Beauty and the Beast Gravi Style
by Raita Amaya
Summary: A spoof of the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. When Shuichi goes looking for his missing father, a weapon wielding inventor, he gets a lot more than he bargained for in a strange castle controlled by a demon with an attitude problem.
1. Part 1 of Part 1

Beauty and the Beast….

Gravi Style

Disclaimer: The Spiffy Spoofer does not own any part of Gravitation, nor does she own any part of Beauty and the Beast. Maki Murakami owns Gravitation, and Disney owns Beauty and the Beast. So, you have no reason to sue. And you if you do, file it with the complaint department. points to scary looking stick with a sign saying 'complaint department' taped to it

The story was updated because I did some editing and added some text about Yuki getting relationship counseling from Tohma and Judy before the first dinner.

* * *

Our story starts out overlooking a tranquil village in the morning. A spring morning, mind you. One of the prettiest, and quietest, the town had seen for a while. However, nothing perfect lasts long, and this time the beautiful morning was broken yet again by Shuichi, the son of the local crazed inventor. Or at least the townspeople _thought_ he was his son.

Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed across the square.

"THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC!" sang Shuichi as he ran through the staring passersby.

"That's the wrong song, you pink haired dope! This is Beauty and the Beast, remember?" Shouted the bookstore owner.

"Oh yeah…sorry." Answered the innocent adolescence as he started in with the correct song…

"Little town, full of little people, waking up to say…."

"BONJOUR!"

"Bonjour!""Bonjour!" "Bonjour!" "Bonjour!" called the townspeople in response to the beginning of the song.

As the baker hummed over to his shop holding his usual tray of bread and rolls, Shuichi danced after him.

"HEYg! gMordning, mouser! Ooao! Breads!"

"If you feel that you must continue to disturb me with your annoying presence, you could at least be kind enough to REMOVE that stupid blob of candy crap BEFORE speaking to me?" shouted the baker in response to Shuichi's horrid grammar.

"Sorry, mousier. It was just so super yummy!" squeaked the teen as he removed the strawberry hard candy from his mouth.

"How much do I have to pay you to GO AWAY!" Squalled the now angry baker. "I don't care HOW 'YUMMY' THE CANDY WAS, OR IS! GET LOST! LITERALLY!"

And this was a perfect and expected way for Shuichi's morning visit to the baker to preside. Now, on to the other ridiculing townspeople. Let the riot begin.

Skipping across the town square, Shuichi caught the eye of everyone there, but especially Tatsuha, the local hunk. He strutted around as if he owned the town and everyone living it, and according to the womenfolk, they wouldn't care if he did. Every girl wanted to be with him, and every man wanted to be him. Every man except for Shuichi that is. He could care less about the hairy, shallow, and stuck up punk.

Continuing on his merry way past Tatsuha, Shuichi skipped into the local confectionary shop.

"Good morning, Shuichi! Nice to see you in one piece!" said the confectioner with a smile.

"Oo! Hi! I just came to pick up some more of these great strawberry candies you make!" Chirped Shuichi as he ran over to the spot where the candy was kept.

"If you like them all that much, have this for free. Take them home and enjoy them, young lad." Replied the confectioner with a large grin, as he handed Shuichi 3 or 4 pounds of the candy.

"REALLY!"

"Yes, really. Now run along home so that I don't go permanently deaf."

As he ran back through the village, Shuichi failed to watch where he was going and promptly tripped over Tatsuha, who was promptly pleased with himself. Being as fit as he was, Tatsuha sprang back to life, and being as arrogant as he was, didn't offer to help Shuichi up.

When Shuichi had finally reclaimed his scattered brains, he stayed around just long enough to hear a bit of Tatsuha's conversation with his midget minion, Ryuichi.

"That boy WILL be mine, Ryuichi. You'll see. I'm perfect, his body is perfect, so why shouldn't I deserve him?" laughed Tatsuha with an evil grin upon his already evil face.

"I never said you didn't deserve him, but…Look at him. He's the inventor's son. He's probably a lunatic as well…" replied Ryuichi slowly. _Eeewww…you're bi? That's freaky._

"That can be remedied, my stupid Ryuichi. That can be remedied."

"What the heck is wrong with you? Can't you even help a person up? Or at least watch where you're going? Jerk." As were the first words that came out of Shuichi's mouth once he had picked himself off of the ground.

"I believe YOU were the one that ran into ME, my precious Shuichi." Was the slick reply from Tatsuha.

"Since when do you have to right to call me that, moron?" Came the menacing words from Shuichi, just as he realized something was NOT right. "WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE'S MY CANDY, JERK OFF!"

"Now, now. You shouldn't be filling your head with so much sugar and candy. Especially when you could, and should, be filling your head with thoughts of me. (Insert evil smile here) I'm sweet enough, aren't I?" Soothed Tatsuha as he held the bag of strawberry sweets just out of poor, short Shuichi's reach.

"TATSUHA! You're positively A BIG MEANIE! NOW GIVE ME BACK MY CANDY!" Shuichi screamed at full volume, causing Tatsuha and Ryuichi, who had been hiding, to cover their ears rather quickly. This resulted in Tatsuha dropping the candy, Shuichi grabbing it, and then Shuichi running off into the distance laughing like a drunken maniac.

'DAD! I'm HOME!"

"SHU! BIG-A-NEWS!" Shouted K in response to his son's enthusiastic call.

"What did you do this time, father dearest? Please don't tell me you've about blown up or destroyed the interior of the house and we have to move again…" Shuichi moaned, remembering the past seven moves and hopefully looking up at the so far still standing house.

"Now, now, come, come. I haven't badly damaged one of our living residences for at least a week now! Have more faith, Shu."

"Alright, Dad, I'm sorry. Show me what you've done so far…but warn me if it's going to be dangerous or fire breathing. My hair got scorched the last time you showed me an 'invention' of yours, remember?" Was the apprehensive reply of the young teen.

As Shuichi followed K into the cellar/lab area of the small cottage, he noticed scorch marks along the walls. Upon entering, he saw the new 'invention' sitting up in a stand. It looked like it was made of metal, it was shiny, and it had a little round thing that had a sticky note attached that said, 'TRIGGER. DO NOT TOUCH WITHOUT PREPERATION'. Shuichi decided to stand farther away this time. Bad idea.

Being so triumphantly caught up in his brilliance, K failed to realize that his beloved son was right in the firing path of his new…uh…'invention'.

"3…2…1!" squealed K as the object shot a fiery blast straight at Shuichi, who screamed and dodged just in time.

"HOLY POCKYSTICKS! YOU TRYIN TO KILL ME OLD MAN!" Screamed the frightened boy who had probably just wet himself.

"OH! I'm so sorry Shu, but it WORKS! WE'RE GONNA BE RICH, BOY!" K said gleefully as he almost completely ignored his cowering son.

"So…you're going to take it to the inventor's fair tomorrow?" Asked Shuichi while he was literally shaking in his boots.

"Hitch up Nanashi, (A/N: The name of their horse. It means 'Without name', and it's an inside joke) boy, I'm off to the fair!" were the only words K shouted before he ran out the door laughing maniacally while holding his new invention, which he had decided to call…the "GUN".

Running out the door to the stables, Shuichi had a feeling of ill will, but he decided to ignore it. On his way back to house so that he could change his clothes, he reassured himself. His father was a strong man. He would come home perfectly safe, loony as ever, just like always. Or so he thought.

"Nanashi, you baka, where in all of Tokyo have you taken us, dang it?" whispered K to his horse.

They had been riding in circles for at least a half an hour and K was more than worried, until they came to a crossroad.

"Nanashi, let's go this way. I know it looks dark and spooky, but what an adventure. I'd be a pansy if I went down the light and happy-looking path!" Chuckled K, who was happy at finally being un-lost.

The only reply to this was the stubborn horse getting upset and trying to go the other way. Down the now dubbed, 'Pansy Path' by K.

"Nanashi! You dumb horse! Would you listen to me? I'm the master here!"

The horse reluctantly agreed to listen to his owner, but as they moved down the dark path, the howling of wolves was heard in the distance.

"Oh, crud! Nanashi! Where have you taken us!"

Nanashi's thoughts: "You're the baka that wanted to come this way, mind you, not me."

"Holy crap, now what've we done, Nanashi! Run like the wind, boy!" screamed K in a little girly voice.

Now, Nanashi was in a panic too, and took this command the wrong way entirely. Instead of running back to the crossroads, he plunged forward like a bull with gas.

"NO! BAD HORSE!" K squealed in his little girl voice.

The horse paid no attention and went speeding forward as the wolves started the chase. At first it looked as if they were going to outrun the beasts, but all too quickly, reinforcements arrived in the form of another pack.

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Screamed the man, who was now trying to fire the GUN at the pursuers, but all of a sudden, the dang thing wouldn't work. "CRAP! THE FAMILY BUSINESS'LL BE IN SHU'S HANDS! THE WORLD WILL END! NOOO! I'M TOO MANLY AND PRETTY TO DIE THIS YOUNG!"

All the screaming from K, and the howling from the wolves had scared Nanashi so bad that he threw the screaming baka off of himself and ran for the crossroads.

"YOU STUPID HORSE! GET BACK HERE!" screamed the man as he went flying through the air.

Deciding not to cry over spilled milk, K grabbed his old invention, the one that had scorched Shuichi's hair, and his newest one and ran for his life. In a couple of minutes, he found a pair of large steely gates and tried his best to open them before the wolves could get a chance to sharpen their claws on his flesh. He finally succeeded, and threw himself inside and kicked the gate shut, chuckling to himself. That had been too close and now it was time for revenge. He quickly grabbed his old invention, the "GRENADE", and tossed it at the unsuspecting creatures. Boom badda bang, and you have some scorched doggies and a K-sized crater in the ground.

Deciding to focus on accommodations for the evening, K walked up to the castle that the gates had been guarding.

* * *

Guess I should go ahead and do the prelude for the movie, eh? I know it's a bit too late, but oh well. It has to be said and there's no other way for me to work it in to the story.

It was a dark and stormy night, when the old hag crept up the stairs to the castle of 16-year-old Yuki Eiri, the most handsome, and cold, prince in all the land. She had been traveling for days, and asked of him shelter, with compensation equaling a beautiful gerbera daisy.

Disgusted with her appearance, he turned her away, calling her a disgrace to the female sex. She replied that true beauty was on the inside, not the outside. He snorted and physically threw her out the door. In seconds, her haggard and ugly appearance faded away, causing the prince's jaw to drop. She turned out to be a dazzling enchantress that placed a curse upon the castle, him, and all of his servants.

She said that if he did not find someone to love and be loved by before his 23 birthday, then he would remain in the curse forever. Having said that, she transformed the prince into a horrid-looking beast. And turned his servants into things that represented their personalities, just as she had with their master. And that, as they say, is that.

* * *

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" asked K quietly as he crept through the dark castle. A slight rustling was heard up high, but K regarded it as bats, and therefore completely ignored it. Bad idea. But that will come into play later.

Noticing a candlestick wrapped in a black, feather boa, he moved toward it, picked it up, and continued on his self-guided tour.

"HEY! Put me down, jerk! You'll stain the feathers!" shrieked someone nearby.

"Hello? Who's there?" Were the only words K could muster.

"I'm right here, you dolt." Said the candlestick with sarcasm, as he wonked K on the head with his boa.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! HOLY FRICKIN CRAP!"

From high up in the rafters, a voice cackled softly. "Oh, how I love my security…"

"Put me down NOW please, mousier. I've tried to be nice." Replied the candlestick calmly.

"OH MY! IT"S A MAN! A HUMAN! OH NO! MASTER'S GONNA KILL US, TOHMA-SAN!" shrieked a clock from under a table somewhere.

"Oh calm down, Sakano. Eiri-san won't be TOO mad…especially if he doesn't find out…" said Tohma in a quiet voice.

"Won't find out, will I? You were always the baka, Tohma. Go ahead. Offer him tea. Just see what happens." Cooed the voice as it descended from its high perch.

"Are you sure To-o—hma?" said Sakano in a shaky voice.

"Sure I'm sure. Would you like some tea, mousier?" Tohma asked the twitching K.

"Uhhh…Ok…" was the only response.

Entering a fire-lit room, Tohma quickly ran off to find Judy, the head teapot, and her son, Michael the teacup. Sakano just peered around nervously, just hoping against hope that the master wouldn't come down.

K could've sworn he'd heard a flap of wings, but again he figured it was just bats…That bright idea was cleared up as soon as Judy and Michael arrived with the tea.

"What the hell is this?" said the voice softly as it picked up K by his collar with a sharpened claw.

"I'm SO SORRY! IT WAS ALL HIM, I SWEAR UPON ALL THAT IS HOLY! DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE!" screeched Sakano as he dove back under his table.

"Now listen, Eiri-san…he needed a place to stay for the night…and I thought…" Tohma trailed off.

"Well you sure as hell thought wrong you stupid candle. NO humans are allowed in this castle unless they're here as PRISONERS! NOT GUESTS! WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, LOSE THE DAMN FEATHERS!" screamed the now identified Yuki Eiri.

"Please…um…mousier…uh…Sir, I lost my horse in the woods, and I just needed a place to stay until morning…" queried K but he was cut off by a vehement hiss from Yuki.

"Don't know what to call me, eh? What's wrong? Never seen a demon before? Or have you never seen a fanged human with wings?" replied Yuki through gritted teeth. "Just for that comment, you can stay in the dungeon and rot for all I care."

"Now Eiri-san, please! Just calm down and…" Tohma tried to counter this, but decided not to when Yuki shot him the infamous 'Death Glare'.

"You won't be leaving anytime soon, so get used to it here." snarled Yuki as he threw K into a cell, leaving him alone in the dungeon. "Anyone of you bring him food or water, and it'll be you in that cell, understood!" shouted the demon at his cowering servants.

"Yes, sir!" they all replied with extreme quickness.

"Good." Was the only audible word heard as the demon flew back to his perch in the rafters.


	2. Part 2 of Part 1

Meanwhile, back in the village, Tatsuha had assembled his whole family, with the exception of his brother Eiri and his sister Mika, and her husband Tohma. No one knew what the heck had happened to them. They never came to visit anymore. Besides his family, Tatsuha had called in the whole town to a wedding-typed reception area right outside of Shuichi and K's cottage.

"I want to thank you all for coming to my wedding. But first, I have to go propose to the lucky…er…_person._" Smirked Tatsuha as he headed off toward his faithful minion.

"Now, Ryuichi, you remember what you're supposed to do when we come out, right?" questioned Tatsuha.

"Of course! I strike up the band!" Ryuichi cried happily as he signaled the reception's band to start playing "Here Comes the Bride".

"You baka! Knock it off!" Tatsuha snarled at Ryuichi and the band. "If he hears something, he'll run for it."

Singing loudly and eating candy were Shuichi's favorite things to do, and he wasn't going to miss the golden opportunity of having his father out of the house. But as he tuned his voice for the task, he noticed that some happy couple must have decided to tie the knot. Great.

"I HATE weddings…" he muttered to himself as he went to close all of the windows to block out the horrid music. "If they're going to get married, they could at least get a decent band…People are so CHEAP these days!"

Ignoring the wedding music proved to be an easy chore, as it stopped almost as soon as it had started, and was followed by a screaming man. Heh, guess that dude had some resentment toward the whole thing.

"I'm just glad I don't get tangled up in that love crap. I'm an independent man, and I'm gonna stay that way." was the only reply heard between Shuichi's angry mutterings.

"Wait for the damn signal, Ryuichi!" shouted Tatsuha as he stormed toward the small cottage owned by Shuichi and K. "You're so stupid sometimes!"

"Tooku de me o hikarasete, mezameru monotachi matte iru

yoru no jouheki, sasowarete utsurisumu mure no nukegara ni…" sang the nineteen year old with conviction. He was caught completely un-aware when the doorbell rang a couple of times.

Deciding to further inspect this rare marvel, he looked through one of his father's screwball inventions. He was utterly disgusted by what he saw. There was Tatsuha, standing in front of his door in a fancy-smancy suit. Oh joy. Not.

"What the heck are you doing here, Tatsuha?" were the words that Shuichi answered the door with.

"Well, hello, my dear, darling Shuichi. How are you today?" _You've got a big surprise coming, boy._

"I'm fine, now if you'll kindly leave, I can continue my day." _You prick. Get off my lawn._

"Now, now. Calm down. I just want to talk." Smirked Tatsuha as he pushed himself into the small residence.

"Whatever. Make it quick_." I'd rather jump off a cliff than listen to you babble at me._

"Today, my boy, I'm gonna make your dreams come true."

"What the hell do you know about my dreams?" _Really? You mean you're finally going to drown yourself and leave me alone for eternity! Yay!_

"I know plenty. Picture this. A rustic hunting lodge, dames all around, big strapping boys like me running wild, and plenty of hunting dogs. A whole pack!" Tatsuha blurted triumphantly, waiting for Shuichi's thrilled reply.

"You're a flippin' looney. Get lost_." Darn it. I had the bucket with water ready and everything. That's going to put a damper on my mood._

"Just say yes, and get it over with brat." _You know you want me._

"Screw you, and get out." _I hate your guts, and I'd love to see them spilled out on my floor._

"Fine. You'll regret the day you refused me, boy." _I'll get him. He'll see the light. _

"Yeah right." _Thought he'd never leave._

Storming out of the small cottage, Tatsuha completely forgot about Ryuichi and his half-wit band. As soon as he came out of the house, he tripped over a well-placed booby trap invention and went flying through the air, only to land face first in a puddle of mud. On his hazardous flight, his stupid minion had struck up the band, serenading the mud-covered would-be groom.

"RYUICHI! STOP THE STUPID BAND ALREADY!"

"Yes sir!" saluted Ryuichi as he signaled for the band to stop.

"Tee hee. He only wishes he could have me. Yeah right. That stupid jerk. How dare he look at me as if I was some kind of trophy prize!" Shuichi muttered as he went outback to do some productive chores instead of spending the rest of his day as a bum.

It had been 3 days since his father had been missing. He usually would have come back by now. At this point, Shuichi was getting worried, but decided to hide it and continue on with his daily routines.

"Nee, oikakete, oikakete, shiroi kaze, nee, koi ni natte, ai ni natte, hane hirogetai, nee ii koto mo, warui koto mo, subete tashite, ni de watte, umaku iite, toki wo koetai…." Sang Shuichi as he skipped over to a vacant field that was on their property, "I'll never be with Tatsuha. Heck, I'll never be with anyone. I'm too independent for that lovey-dovey crap. And where in all of Hell is my father!" spouted the moody kid.

A couple minutes had passed when Shuichi heard hooves in the distance. He instantly looked around to see if it was the sheriff coming to arrest him, Tatsuha coming to claim him, or his father returning home. None of the above.

"Nanashi! Where's K! What did you do to him?" Shuichi shouted as the horse came to a halt in front of him.

In response the horse just stared at the boy, which just worried him more.

"NANASHI! TAKE ME TO HIM! NOW! SHOW THE FRICKIN MEANING OF FRICKIN HASTE, AND IF I DON'T FIND HIM ALIVE IT'S COMIN' OUT OF YOUR HIDE! UNDERSTAND ME!"

At this moment, Shuichi spurred the horse off into the distance following the same path that his father had treaded upon earlier.

* * *

Pacing the narrow hallway in the west wing had become a habit for Yuki Eiri. The west wing was a place of sanctity and peace. His servants avoided it with the utmost respect, and he NEVER had guests, prisoners NEVER escaped, so he had it to himself in its entirety.

He had always sought refuge here, ever since his sixteenth birthday when that old hag had shown up on his doorstep. The daisy she had placed the curse on was stored here as well, along with his special mirror. It was his only connection to the outside world.

"I'm gonna kill that candlestick. But first I'm gonna burn that stupid boa just to make him squeal. Or maybe I'll get rid of his little girlfriend first…yeah…that would work…Crap…no it wouldn't…she's my sister. Dang it. I had it all figured out too." He muttered to the silence of his dark castle.

In other parts of the castle, happy things were scurrying about, thinking about dinner, and not how to go about murdering their family members.

"What are we going to do for dinner!" Judy screamed as she rushed through the kitchen area, trying to break the silence of the other servants. Today's horrid event had surely shaken them up, but it wasn't bad enough to get so down about. It had happened many times in the past six years. Prisoners had come and gone, and their length of stay depended on when the master decided to throw them out the tower window. All of the staff drew straws to see who should handle the clean up.

"Is anyone listening to me! WHAT IS FOR DINNER? ANSWER ME NOW!" screeched the teapot.

"SHUT UP NOW!" came the loud reply from Yuki as he stepped in the doorway of the kitchen, causing everyone but Judy to run away in terror. "If I have to remind you one more time that you are NOT the head of staff, I'll throw you out of the tower and give the new prisoner your job, understood!"

"Yes, sir. Of course. I'll quietly file my complaints with Tohma, for I believe he is still the head, correct?" Asked the quivering teapot quietly.

"Yes. Tohma is the head of staff and don't you dare forget it." Snarled Yuki, as he walked back up the stairs to continue his pacing. Seconds later, Tohma walked in and informed the kitchen that they would be having meat for dinner. Lots and lots of meat.

"Why are you guys always making meat for the master? Doesn't he eat those nasty green things like I used to?" inquired Michael.

"No, dear…the master is a carnivore…a predator. He only likes to eat meat usually. You should know that by now. Oh, while you're here, be a dear and go wake the silverware for me." His mother answered kindly.

"Alright, Mom."

"NANASHI! RUN FASTER! I HATE DOGS!" screamed Shuichi as he and his horse carved out a kamikaze path through the gloomy forest, just out of reach of the wolves. "GET AWAY FROM ME! IF YOU HAVE TEETH, JUST BACK AWAY! AHHHH! NANASHI! FLY LIKE THE WIND YOU STUPID UN-TOOTHED ANIMAL! GOOOO! FASTER! NOW!"

As the horse picked up his pace at an alarming rate, the boy was all too aware of a large, iron gate about twenty feet away.

"SLOW DOWN! WOAH, NELLIE! SLOW! DOWN! AHHH! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

**BOOM!**

"Ouch, my head…ooo! Shiny stars…" were the last words heard as the boy passed out on the ground.

* * *

"First of all, what the hell was all that screaming?" Yuki asked the shaking group of servants he had gathered before him and was now pacing in front of. "And what was that crash? Judy, I told you NOT to let your stupid kid play in the suits of armor, didn't I!"

"I didn't do it this time, sir…" said the small teacup.

"Hold your tongue and do not talk to me unless I ask you to, got it!" replied Yuki as he was cut off by loud banging sounds coming from the front of the castle. "Tohma, go do your job, no more prisoners, and if you make me mad, I'm takin' the boa."

"Yes, sir!" _If you lay a hand on my boa, I'll kill you. And your little daisy, too! Muhahaha! Cough…cough…_

When he arrived at the scene of the noise, Tohma opened the door to find a rider-less horse standing there looking panicked. Looking behind the horse, he saw a cute little pink-haired girl passed out on the bridge to the castle. The master just might be interested in this…maybe not.

"TOHMA! GET BACK IN HERE AND GET THAT ANIMAL OFF MY PROPERTY!" screamed the demon after Tohma had been gone approximately 2 minutes.

"Coming sir!" called Tohma as he ran back to the hall area.

"Well?" inquired Yuki.

"One question if I may, Eiri-san…how did you know it was a horse?"

"I have an extremely good sense of smell, and I've changed my mind. I like horsemeat. Take him to the stables now, Sakano."

Sakano, who had been hiding again, crept out from under the rug, bowed, and then ran to retrieve the horse.

"Did you see anything else, Tohma?"

"No, sir…I didn't." The candlestick replied quickly, deciding not to say anything about the girl until when his master was in a better mood. (A/N: In case you were wondering, Tohma thinks that Shuichi is a girl.)

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to go back to whatever it was that I was doing. I'll leave your stupid boa alone for now. I'll reconsider destroying it later, so be on your guard. Come find me when dinner's ready."

"Of course, my Liege," Replied the candlestick, who was now holding on to his black feather boa for dear life. Even though he completely forgot about the boa when his wife, Mika the feather duster, shuffled by…

* * *

"Oh man. Where the heck am I?" The teen quietly asked himself as he got up off of the ground. "I wonder if this is where dad is…" Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a small clock leading his horse away. "I must be delirious..."

Walking toward the freaky looking castle, Shuichi noticed that there was a grenade pin at his feet and a huge crater behind the gates. The crater was certainly a sign of his father. Shuichi jumped for joy. Now, if he can only find him inside this big, scary castle… "This is gonna be one wild ride..." mused the teen as he cautiously opened the doors. What an understatement.

"Heeeellllooo?" called Shuichi as soon as he was inside. "I'm looking for a tall, blonde man with a gun…Is he in here? If not, I'll just leave…"

"Tohma!" hissed Sakano when he came back inside. "There's a girl in the castle!"

"I know you dumb arse, now go tell the others NOT to tell the master…go!"

"Not to tell me WHAT, feather boy?"

"Ummm…not to tell you that dinner will be delayed by 15 minutes…um, Sir?" Squeaked the candlestick.

"Hmph, whatever. Come get me when it's ready. And tell Judy I'm starved," said the demon as he flew back up into the west wing to await his dinner.

"Phew. That was a close one. Now I had better get her out of here…and quickly." Tohma whispered to himself, as he scurried off in search of Shuichi.

"HEY! Hello? DAD!" screamed Shuichi as he walked through the castle.

"Shhh, you baka!" said Tohma as he jumped on the said girl and covered his mouth with the boa.

"What the…mmmph…mph!" came the muffled reply from Shuichi as his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"Don't ask any questions or make any noise, and I'll take you to your father, capiche?"

Shuichi's only response was a nod of the head, and they were off to the dungeon.

Climbing the long stairs to the dungeon really took it out of Shuichi, who hadn't exercised for months. He was naturally skinny, and didn't have to work to keep the sugar weight off. He tried to ask his companion if they were there yet, but the feather boa was constricting all attempts to speak.

"Stop mumbling and keep quiet, you stupid girl!" said the candlestick quite suddenly. As if reading Shuichi's mind, "And yes, we're almost there."

Upon entering the stony dungeon, Shuichi was instantly frozen to the bone. Although his soul warmed up greatly when the feather boa was untied and he saw his father lying in a cell toward the back end.

"DAD! You're alive! Do you still have your GUN? You can break the lock and escape…Dad? K? You're hands…they're freezing!"

"Get…out…while…you still can, Shu…You have to go…now. Before HE comes..."

"Before who comes? I don't care! I have to get you out of here! Now where did that candle dude go….?"

"In answer to both of you inquiries, the candle 'dude' is right here…" answered Yuki mockingly as he choked Tohma with the boa. "And I'm the one you're supposed to be looking out for. And your dear old dad is right, milady. Now leave before I get violent."

"I AM NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT HIM, GOT IT!"

"Yes…I'm afraid you will be." Replied the cold demon as he grabbed Shuichi's shoulder and threw him like a rag doll into the nearest stone wall.

"Ooo…What year is it…?" muttered Shuichi quietly as he picked himself up, ready for a fight. "I told you I'm not leaving here without him! He might die!"

"And I should care, because…?" taunted Yuki softly.

"Fine! I propose a trade!" said Shuichi haughtily, having no clue what he was getting himself into. "Take me instead."

"SHU! NO! I won't let you! You have to go back to the village, and forget about me! You have your whole life ahead of you! Now, go back home and maybe settle down with someone…other then Tatsuha!" protested K, but he was rapidly cut off by Yuki.

"Did you just say, Tatsuha? As in Uesugi Tatsuha?" he asked coldly.

"I could care less about that pervert's last name!" Squalled Shuichi.

"Whatever." In his head, Yuki knew that this was 'girl' was talking about his younger brother. He just didn't want to waste the energy of saying it. "Now about this trade…."

"I won't stand for this!"

"Tohma, go fetch the prisoner a chair." Yuki answered with a small smile.

"This is my only child we're talking about!"

"Dad! Dang it! I'm over 18, in fact I'm 19 if you'd care to remember! I can do whatever I please, and I'm doing this for you, so be grateful for once!"

"Shut up and stop bickering. You, kid. I'm going to list out the details of this trade in laymen terms. First, you'll be quiet. Second, you'll do exactly as I tell you. And third…You'll be my mistress."

"Fine." Shuichi agreed quickly. He really had no idea what the dude meant by 'mistress', but oh well. "But first…come into the light…please?"

"You sure about that, kid? I don't wanna give you nightmares or anything."

"I'm sure."

Yuki then pulled himself into the light, and smiled, showing his lovely fangs and sharpened claws. Not to mention his spiny and spiky wings. As expected, Shuichi screamed, and fell backwards to K, who was desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"You still agree?"

"Yes. I still agree." Sighed Shuichi as he watched Yuki drag his father down the stairs to a vine covered box thing, throwing him inside. Shuichi had never been more depressed in his entire life.

"Oh, crud…what've I done now…?" he moaned as he leaned against the cell, pondering on how he was going to make this more like home.

A couple of minutes later, Yuki came back, much to the boy's dismay.

"Come with me. I'll show you to your room."

"Room? I thought I was a prisoner." _For looking so tough, you're brain sure seems weak._

"You are, but, seeing as you're a 'special' prisoner, you get a room. Unless you want to stay here?" _Like you even have a choice._

"I'd prefer to stay here, thank you very much." _Loser._

"It wasn't a question, baka." _You seem quite inadequately equipped with brain cells that work._

"I'm not moving." _Just see if you can make me._

"Fine, but I warn you, that response WILL be remedied." _No one disobeys me._

"Jerk." _Go away. It's bad enough without you here._

"You really are an idiot." _Suspicions confirmed._

"You really are mean." _Grrr…._

Without bothering to reply, Yuki just pick up a slat of wood from the prison, and whacked Shuichi over the head with it. Hard.


	3. Part 3 of Part 1

Dragging the teen down several flights of stairs proved to be a LOT harder than it looked. She looked like she was pretty lightweight, but that was quite far from the truth.

"Dang it…I'm gonna pull my back out of joint dragging this kid…" complained Yuki as he picked up Shuichi and slung him over his shoulder. "You had better be worth the trouble, girl."

"Eiri-san, if I may, can I PLEASE have my boa back now? I've been behaving myself for over five minutes, just like you told me to!" Tohma mentioned quietly as he bounced after Yuki and his cargo.

"Tohma, if you ask me that question ONE MORE TIME, I'm going to BURN the STUPID FEATHERS!" stated Eiri as he dropped the so-called 'girl' on the floor of the main hall.

"Of course…completely understood…I won't bring it up anymore, not once more. I swear, my Liege."

"Good. Now go and do something productive before I change my mind and burn it for fun."

Waking up to a demon standing over you was not a good way to wake up according to Shuichi. Upon opening his eyes, he realized he was flat on his back in the main room of the castle, with his captor staring at him avidly.

"What the heck do you want?" inquired the boy.

"Shut up, and follow me" _You shallow minded twit._

"Listen, dude. Don't TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" _You arrogant arse._

"You WILL listen to me. You WILL follow my orders. UNDERSTOOD!" _Never talk back to me._

"You're an insensitive jerk! I just lost my whole family, my whole life, in less than 15 minutes, and all you can do is boss me around and whack me in the head!" _What the heck is your problem?_

"I'm allowed to be whatever I want, whether it be a recluse, or an 'insensitive jerk'. This is my castle, my rules, and I could care less about your stupid feelings, got it?" _This girl is really grating on my last nerve._

"Fine." Spat the grouchy boy, who was not happy about this in any way.

"Good." Spat Yuki back. _I'm starting to regret this trade and it's only been twenty minutes._

As Yuki led the way up the stairs towards the east wing, Shuichi reluctantly followed behind him, still pondering the meaning of the word 'mistress'.

"Where are we going?" piped up the small boy.

"Shut up. Your voice is annoying me." Snarled the moody demon as they got closer to Shuichi's quarters.

When Yuki and his special 'guest' had reached the correct door, he grabbed the small kid and threw him into a plainly decorated room.

"This will be your room. You are by no means allowed to leave it unless I say so, or you're in my company, understood?"

"I understand…"replied the teen gloomily. "What about if I'm with the candlestick?"

"NO. Stay away from that dolt…and by the way, you'll be joining me for dinner, whether you want to or not." Answered Yuki as he stormed back up to the west wing.

With these orders firmly in place, Shuichi of course decided to explore the castle, on his own. He was hoping that that stupid demon meanie didn't expect him to only leave his room in such unpleasant company. Walking over to his small window, Shuichi suddenly had the perfect idea of what to do first in such a large castle.

Grabbing some sheets off of his large bed, Shuichi cautiously opened the door that led out into the hall. Big mistake.

"You didn't wait long enough to see where I'd gone, you baka." Came the cold words that came out of the now angry Yuki's mouth.

"Uhh…umm...I...I…" Sputtered the frightened boy as he started to back away, into his room.

"You got that right. Don't come out until Sakano comes to fetch you for dinner, got it? And when you say yes this time, actually mean it, punk."

"Right…Yeah. I got it." Replied the shaking Shuichi.

Deciding to save the daredevil antics for another time, the boy quietly admitted defeat and plopped down on his bed for a short nap.

"Why does he have to be so mean?" mused Shuichi as he stared at the blank ceiling. "What did I ever do to him? What did my Dad ever do to him? We'd never even met him…"

"Maybe it's what you DIDN'T do." Said a female voice from a corner. "My little brother is always nicer to people who say bad things about him."

Stepping into the light, Mika thoroughly enjoyed the twitching of the small girl sitting on the bed. _Ah, she's so cute. No wonder my brother hasn't killed her yet._

"You're his sister? But you're a feather duster…"

"And my husband's a candlestick. It's a long story, and you're already giving me a headache. Ask adequate questions if you're going to talk at all, kid."

"OK. Why is your brother nicer to people that are mean to him?" inquired Shuichi.

"He says the person gets to trusting him, and therefore it causes a lot more trauma when he decides to pitch them out the window. For instance, if your father had done what you did, he would have been long since dead before you even showed up. Eiri's just weird that way, I guess." Answered Mika truthfully.

"Right…He scares me. A lot." _That's an understatement to rule the world._

"Eiri scares everyone, even me sometimes." replied Mika as she moved toward the door.

"What did you call him?"

"His name, you insolent twit. Even demons have names you know. But don't get caught calling him that. You can call him 'Master' or 'Yuki-san', maybe. Understood?" were the last words heard as Mika shuffled out of the room to go find Tohma.

"Well I can sure hear the family resemblance. That whole 'understood' thing really bothers me." grumbled Shuichi as soon as he was absolutely sure no one was around to hear him.

Stretching out on his new bed, Shuichi instantly fell asleep. It had been a trying day for him. A nineteen year old can only take so much. With everything that had happened in the space of twenty-four hours, Shuichi was sure it had been at least a week since he had come for his father.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the dining room, the sullen demon was receiving some major coaching from Tohma and Judy.

"Remember…impress her with your sharp wit and blooming personality!" said Tohma with enthusiasm as Judy muttered "Yeah, blooming Venus fly-trap personality at best. Great plan of action."

"You have got to be kidding me." Said the demon as he rolled his golden eyes at Tohma's insane amount of pep and Judy's lack of moral support. "I can handle this. Trust me."

"Sure you can…" smirked Judy in a haughty way. "Just like you're going _to handle_ showing off your non-existent wit, right?"

In response to this, the demon gave Judy's cart a swift kick and sent her zooming back toward the kitchens while he shot Tohma a death glare that could melt Mt. Everest. Five seconds later, in the main hall, an uninvited pigeon fell from the rafters and landed with a loud splat sending feathers up in a small cloud.

Half an hour later, though, a small knock woke him up from his peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Umm…human? Person in there?" asked the shy clock tentatively. "Dinner is served."

"I'll be there in a minute." Called Shuichi as he changed into his spare clothes. "Wait for me please, Sakano! I'll get lost!"

"Ummm…Sure, I guess…" Was the reply from the shaky clock.

Within five minutes, Shuichi and Sakano were on their way down the stairs to the dining room.

"Uhh…Guest? What's your name? I'm having trouble recalling." Queried the clock.

"No duh you're having trouble recalling. I never told anyone my name. It's Shuichi, though. And yours is Sakano, right? That's what Yuki-san said."

"THE MASTER REMEMBERED MY NAME!" squealed the clock in surprise as he keeled over on the floor.

"That clock is one freaky little guy…" smirked Shuichi as he continued down the stairs, praying that he wouldn't get lost.

"TOHMA! WHERE THE HELL ARE THE FEATHERS! YOU STOLE THEM BACK DIDN'T YOU? I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU EVIL LITTLE CANDLESTICK!" (A/N: Yuki and Tohma seem to have nothing better to do with their spare time, and are constantly waging war over Tohma's feather boa.)

Upon hearing this, Shuichi quickly decided to run for his life in the other direction, because the large shadow of Yuki was coming his way.

"And where do you think you're going?" snarled Yuki as he grabbed Shuichi's shirt and dug a claw into his shoulder.

"Umm…Nowhere?" squeaked Shuichi as he tried desperately to remove the sharp claw, which was very painful.

"The dining room is that way, unless you happen to know where Tohma is." spat Yuki as he pulled his claw out of poor Shuichi's shoulder.

"I have no idea where he is, but the clock guy passed out over there by the top of the stairs." Answered Shuichi weakly as he held onto his hurt shoulder.

"Come here." _I have an idea._

"Ok…" Now what….? _Oh boy. Here we go. I'll just ignore the shoulder problem for now._

"What's your name, kid?" _Why didn't she say something earlier…_

"My name is Shuichi, and what do you want?" _I don't like you._

"I need you to help me find Tohma. You go search the dungeon, I'll take the wings. Understood?"

"Yes." replied Shuichi through gritted teeth. _I hate the understood thing._

"Then get going. If you find him, take him to the dining room and wait for me." Ordered Yuki as he flew off in the direction of the east wing, where Shuichi was staying.

Knowing that no amount of protest could relieve him of this chore, Shuichi willingly walked off toward the dungeon area. Upon arriving, he thought he heard voices. And one of these sounded like the culprit, Tohma. He thought about screaming for Yuki, but he decided to see who the other voice was. He instantly regretted it.

There was Tohma, trying to romance Mika. Cocking his head and trying to back out slowly, Shuichi failed to look behind him, and ran straight into Yuki.

"AHH! Sorry! I didn't see you…you just showed up." stuttered the scared Shuichi. _Dang, he's good at just appearing._

"Calm down, brat." whispered Yuki as he gently grabbed Shuichi and placed him behind him. "Stay there and wait for me."

Deciding to listen instead of bolting, Shuichi was able to hear the conversation between master and servants.

"TOHMA! Get your waxy paws OFF of my sister!" Yuki screeched at the candlestick, who happened to be wearing the boa.

"EIRI! GET LOST! I'm older than you, and I can--" Mika started.

"You stay out of this, Mika, OK?" requested Yuki politely. Everyone respects Mika, whether they want to or not.

"Eiri-san, I'm sorry…but she's my wife, and if you don't approve I'm sorry." Tohma stated firmly.

"First of all, I could care less. She's my sister, and this isn't really about her. Why do you have the stupid boa back?"

"Uhh…Mika gave it back to me, sir." replied the scared candelabra. Eiri snarled in response.

"You lie. Mika, is this true?" Questioned Yuki coldly.

"Yes…it is Eiri. I found it in the new kid's room. Behind the door, and rumpled and dusty. I thought Tohma had lost it. It was an honest mistake." Replied the only one who wasn't shaking, Mika.

"Shuichi…? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do it. I never touched that hideous thing. It's not my color." Answered the boy truthfully with a girlish 'hmph'.

"Really now? I don't know who to believe, but I'm going to take my chances with Shuichi. I've told you both to stop trying to set up everyone that you share this castle with, and now she's on that list to, understood?" Yuki questioned.

"Understood." Said Mika and Tohma gloomily.

When Yuki and Shuichi had finally arrived in the large dining room, Judy came zooming out with the main courses, which were t-bone steaks.

"Are you even hungry, Shuichi?" inquired Yuki from one end of the table.

"I'm a vegetarian, thank you very much." Came the disgusted reply. "Meat makes me sick, so if you'll excuse me…"

"Where the hell do you think you're going? Get back in here!" growled Yuki. "JUDY! Salad, please."

"Are you feeling, alright master? You never eat anything but meat…" replied the teapot.

"It's not for me you stupid pot, it's for her." He spat back, gesturing at Shuichi. "Is that alright, girl?"

"Girl? What do you mean by GIRL! I'm a--" screeched Shuichi.

"I'm sorry. How's milady?"

"Even Tatsuha's better than you!" Cried Shuichi as he ran out of the room before anyone could stop him. "It's so insulting to have people get confused about my gender…I'm a guy! Not a girl! For once I wish someone would realize that."

"Then I guess your wish has come true, sir." Tohma called softly as he crept out of the shadows. "I always thought you were a funny-lookin' girl."

"TOHMA!"

"Calm down, boy. Just be quiet. We don't want Eiri-san to find out about this. Remember, you're supposed to be his mistress."

"Ya know…I never really figured out what he meant by that…" puzzled the young boy.

"Uhh…How do I say this…Umm…I'll tell you when you're older OK? Until then, maybe you'll find out on you own." The candle answered quickly. "Now why don't you run along? I'll go see to the master and keep him occupied. Have fun, but don't tell him about this conversation, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." _Well that's a lot better than UNDERSTOOD, isn't it?_

Climbing the stairs back up to his room, Shuichi remembered his original plans for exploring the castle. And he decided to carry them out, which he knew would surely upset Yuki-san. Good.

"This will do quite nicely…" muttered Shuichi to himself as he pulled a long rope out of a nearby closet.

Running up to the top of the castle completely exhilarated Shuichi as he thought of his conniving scheme. When he had reached his destination, he tied the rope around his waist, opened a window, and jumped out; all the while screaming at the top of his lungs, which he knew would draw attention.

Down in the dining room, Yuki's solitary dinner was interrupted by loud screams coming from the top of the castle. The demon quickly ran to his room and opened the nearest window, and looked up.

There was Shuichi, jumping out of the castle with a rope tied around his middle, laughing and bouncing up and down in the air. Then the rope broke.

With cat-like quickness, Yuki reached out a clawed hand and grabbed the collar of Shuichi's shirt as he went falling past the window. When he made sure he had a good hold of the shaking teen, he pulled him through the window and sat him down on the floor.

"What in all of Hell were you doing! Are you stupid or something!" lectured the angry demon. That was a redundant question.

"I…I...uh...thought it might be fun?" answered the quivering boy quietly. "Honestly. It was fun until I fell."

"You've already convinced me that you're an idiot." whispered Yuki as he pulled Shuichi closer to him. "And I've only known you for a day."

Then he kissed him…long, hard, and passionately, and was thoroughly disappointed when Shuichi's eyes got to be the size of watermelons and he pulled away, gasping for air.

"What the hell is your problem, you freak?" screamed the disgusted adolescence as he ran out of the room as fast as his little chicken legs could carry him. "That guy is so scary!"

"Is something wrong, Eiri-san?" asked Tohma suspiciously as he entered the room.

"WHAT did I do wrong, Tohma! I just kissed her."

"Umm…Some people are just weird like that…she'll get over it…eventually."

"You are no help at all, and I honestly don't know WHY I keep you around." Snarled Yuki as he flew up into the rafters to think about what had just happened.

Running as fast as he could through the deserted castle, Shuichi didn't even bother to see where he was going. He just blindly ran on, and on, and on until he finally reached an obscure ending location.

Scurrying through the darkness of the new room he had entered, Shuichi quickly tried to find a place to hide. The last thing he wanted was for the master of the castle to find him. Looking around, the boy could see nothing, and no one, so he calmed down substantially.

"Why does she have to be difficult? I told her the catch of the deal when she proposed it. She is my mistress, in exchange for her father's life. What is so confusing about that!" hissed the demon from his lofty perch as he glared around the gloomy castle. Yes, with his patented 'Death Glare', the one that makes pigeons within a fifty-mile radius drop dead with fright.

Assuming that the master must be around somewhere glaring, Sakano carefully dodged the falling pigeons that were dropping like stones from the rafters. When you're a stubby legged clock, dodging pigeons is no easy task. Jumping this way and that, trying not to get hit, Sakano flew for the nearest open door, which happened to be the kitchen.

"YES! Safety…no pigeons in here…I hope." cheered Sakano triumphantly as he entered the dark kitchen.

Stepping into his new sanctuary, Sakano failed to notice the other frightened person that was taking refuge in the kitchen. Strolling over to the oven, the clock noticed a trembling foot. He reached out to touch it. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU SICKO! ARGHHH! GET AWAY FROM ME! AHHHHH!" screamed Shuichi as he attempted to run for his life. He was stopped by Tohma with some assistance from his now returned feather boa.

"Woah, now. Just calm down. It's only Sakano and I." Said the candlestick comfortingly as he wrapped the boa around Shuichi's mouth to keep him from screaming. "We don't want the master to hear you! Shut up!"

"Alright!" came the muffled reply from Shuichi.

"Is there anything I can get you, Shuichi? Food, water, perhaps?" asked Sakano charmingly.

"Well, I am a little hungry." Boy was that an understatement.

"Say no more!" said the candlestick gleefully as he summoned the china and silver.

"No! NO! Crust of bread, glass of water. We've screwed up enough for one day! I don't want to get killed, Tohma-san!" pleaded the clock.

"Just calm down, Sakano. Eiri-san won't find out unless we make too much noise. We'll just have to keep it down a bit, OK?" Tohma comforted smoothly as Shuichi watched the two, with peaking interest of what was going on.

"NO, not OK! No! If the master finds out, he'll kill us all!"

"Yeah, Tohma, I'm too young to die… If I have to go hungry for the night and keep my head, I'll be happy too." stated Shuichi quietly, as he didn't want to draw attention. Too late.

"Now what's all this about someone going hungry? Not in **my** kitchen!" Said Judy enthusiastically as she jumped down from the stove.

"Yes! Finally someone on my side!" squealed Tohma as he fired up the stove.

"NO!" squalled Sakano, but he was quickly silenced by the feather boa being completely wrapped around his small clock body.

"Alright then, you heard Tohma! Get the china spotless, and shine the silver, we're havin' a dinner party!" ordered Judy as the speechless Shuichi watched the kitchen come to life…

"Be our guest…" whispered Tohma to himself.

And thus begins the mighty thing that is the dancing silverware scene. This took me forever to find the inspiration to write. At least three weeks. Phew. Glad I'm done with it, and enjoy.

"It is with deepest pleasure and greatest pride that I welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents...your dinner." Proclaims Tohma impressively as silverware started to dance into the room.

Be our guest, be our guest

Put our service to the test,

Tie your napkin 'round your neck

And we provide the rest!

(The chair Shuichi is sitting in ties a napkin around his neck a little too tightly. Shuichi gasps for air and falls out of the chair. The chair scuffles away, and Shuichi spends the rest of the show on the floor.)

Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres

Why we only live to serve

Try the grey stuff, it's delicious

Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!

(Tohma offers Shuichi a plate with some food on it, Shuichi reaches out to try one and burns his finger.)

They can sing, they can dance

After all, sir, this is France!

And a dinner here is never second best!

Go on unfold your menu, take a glance and then you'll

Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

(A cabinet in the side of the dining room opens and some sparkling china shuffles out and begins to dance around. Tohma then hands Shuichi a menu, and he begins reading.)

Beef ragout, cheese soufflé,

Pie and pudding en flambé!

We'll prepare and serve with flair

A culinary cabaret!

(Plates of food go dancing by, and Sakano is hiding in the pudding. Tohma puts his torch to the bottom and Sakano screams and jumps up, his face covered with soot.)

You're alone and you're scared,

But the banquet's all prepared!

No one's gloomy or complaining,

While the flatware's entertaining!

(Some spoons begin to sing and jump into a large bowl of punch.)

We tell jokes, I do tricks

With my fellow candlesticks

(Tohma jumps on a plate and is elevated into the air while juggling his candles. Dancing mugs of beer come bouncing down the table. Only would you find dancing alcoholic beverages in Yuki's castle. )

Mugs: And it's all in perfect taste

That you can bet!

(The mugs begin a gymnastics routine, hopping over one another and passing a beverage from one to the next)

All: Come on and lift your glass,

You've won your own free pass

To be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

Tohma: If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest!

All: Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

(Everyone disperses towards the kitchen, leaving Sakano standing alone. As he begins to shuffle off, Tohma grabs him. A door opens, and is regarded as more silver leaving.)

Tohma: Life is so unnerving,

For a servant who's not serving!

He's not whole without a soul to wait upon

Sakano: Get off!

Tohma: Ah, those good old days when we were useful

Suddenly, those good old days are gone.

(Tohma starts to fake cry, blowing his nose on the boa, and would- be snow starts to fall from the ceiling. Sakano looks up and sees two salt shakers pouring salt down. Shuichi watches intently from the floor, deciding to ignore the rustling he keeps hearing behind him.)

Tohma: Six years we've been rusting

Needing so much more than dusting

Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!

(Tohma reaches to dust the salt off of Sakano with his boa, but only ends up tripping him with said feathers. Sakano flies through the air and is caught by Yuki, who silences him immediately.)

Most days just lay around the castle,

Flabby, fat and lazy

You walked in, and oops-a-daisies!

(Tohma jumps on a spoon that was stuck in some gelatin mold. Said gelatin flies through the air and hits Shuichi right between the eyes. Shuichi cries out, Tohma ignores him, Yuki tries not to snicker. Scene goes to the kitchen, where Judy is surrounded by soap bubbles.)

Judy: It's a guest, it's a guest!

Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!

Wine's been poured and thank the Lord

I've had the napkins freshly pressed!

(Judy bounces over to the stove.)

With dessert, he'll want tea,

And my dear, that's fine with me!

While the cups do their soft shoeing,

I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing!

I'll get warm, piping hot

Heaven's sake, is that a spot?

Clean it up, we want the company impressed!

We've got a lot to do--

Is it one lump or two?

For you our guest!

(Judy springs onto a cart and goes zooming off into the dining room, and almost runs over Yuki, who jumps out of the way just in time. Judy continues on to Shuichi and offers him tea, which he accepts with a squeal of "Caffeine!")

All: He's our guest!

Judy: He's our guest!

ALL: He's our guest!

Be our guest! Be our guest!

Our command is your request!

It's six years since we had anybody here

And we're obsessed!

With your meal, with your ease,

Yes indeed, we aim to please

While the candlelight's still glowing

Let us help you, we'll keep going--

(The china and select candlesticks start dancing and the scene cuts to Tohma standing on a giant cake, trying to keep his feathers out of the icing)

All, led by Tohma: Course, by course

One by one

'Til you shout "Enough, I'm done!"

Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest

Tonight you'll prop your feet up,

But for now let's eat up

Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!

Please Be our guest!

(A fantastic ending comes of the song, with silver and china flying through the air, plates rolling and feather dusters, led by Mika, dancing, and Judy is the focus of attention, until Tohma comes sliding in and sends her flying off to the kitchens on her cart.)

"Bravo, Tohma. Well done." Yuki said deceptively from the back of the room while clapping. With this statement, Tohma clutched his feather boa, Sakano got free of his captor and hid under a table, Mika runs out of the room, and Shuichi promptly passes out.


	4. Part 1 of Part 2

"What the hell was that?" inquired Yuki vehemently with a hiss. "I told you that she was NOT to leave her quarters unless in my company, and I specifically stated that she was to be dining with ME, NOT YOU!"

"I'm sorry…I…I…she…well…." Stuttered the unusually nervous candlestick.

"She what, Tohma?"

"She was hungry…?" came the quiet reply.

"I could care less about whether she was hungry or not! The fact of the matter is that YOU disobeyed my DIRECT orders, you numskull!" shouted Yuki at his quivering head of staff. "Now give me the stupid boa and go to your room!"

"But Yuki…! That's not fair! I don wanna go to my room!" squalled Tohma in a baby voice.

"Tohma, if you ever talk in that voice again, I swear on my sister I'll kill you. That was wrong, dude." Said Yuki as he stared with wide eyes at the candlestick.

As Tohma quietly slunk off to his room, the Sakano attempted to creep out from underneath his table, but was spotted by the still wide-eyed demon.

"And just where do you think you're going, clock?" seethed Yuki as he noticed the creeping servant.

"Umm…nowhere, sir. Absolutely nowhere!" squeaked Sakano quietly.

"Stay here and wait for her to wake up. It's a waste of my time. When she does decide to come about, take her back to her quarters. Immediately. No daredevil antics, no escaping, and no communicating with that stupid candlestick, got it?" ordered Yuki as he turned to fly back to the West Wing.

"Yes, my Liege!" answered the clock promptly.

* * *

(Meanwhile, back to K! Yay! Everybody loves K!)

As the strange carriage dropped K off at the outskirts of the village, K headed straight for the local pub to find some help for his captured son. Upon entering the musky bar, everyone became completely silent as they all watched K work his way up to the main man of the place, which was none other than Tatsuha. Making his way up to the burly youth, K mentally prepared his plea for help.

"What do you want, old man?" inquired Tatsuha as K approached him.

"I need your help! It's my son! He's been kidnapped!" shouted K as he stood before the dark-haired hunk.

"Shuichi? What's he done this time? Please don't tell me he got himself stuck in the well again." Answered Tatsuha dryly.

"I TOLD YOU HE WAS KIDNAPPED, YOU DOLT! ARE YOU DEAF! NOW ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME OR NOT?" screamed K at the top of his lungs.

"Calm down, you crazed lunatic. Now who kidnapped my precious Shuichi?" replied Tatsuha smoothly.

"An enormous monster with wings and fangs!"

"Were they sharp fangs?" taunted one of Tatsuha's drunken friends from the bar.

While all of this nonsense was going on, the wheels in Tatsuha's head were turning. A demon with fangs and wings? No…it couldn't be. Once he had had a brother. A brother named Eiri, whom at sixteen had been horribly transformed into a malicious beast. He hadn't been seen for over six years. The subject was still a tender spot for Tatsuha, who couldn't take his mangled brother being insulted.

"Extremely sharp! And white! And he could fly, and there was this talking candlestick, and a clock and a-" rambled K as fast as he could before he was cut off by a seething Tatsuha.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HIM THAT WAY!" roared Tatsuha at K. "You just back off and go back to you sorry little cabin! My brother is NOT a horrible beast and you're insane! Get lost, old man!"

" But it's the truth! Will no one help me rescue my son!" squalled K as he was thrown out the door by one of Tatsuha's many cronies.

Yet, as this fiasco was coming to an end, there was one person that actually cared. His name was Hiroshi Nakano, and he and Shuichi had been best friends for many years. Recently, he had been away, and hadn't had the chance to go visit the pink-haired teen.

"Yo, Tatsuha. Let me buy you a drink. The old man's a loon." Offered Hiro in a questionable tone. He had a plan. He intended to see it out.

"Whatever, sure." answered Tatsuha. He wasn't quite sure what Hiroshi was getting at, but at least it got him a free drink.

After a couple of drinks, Tatsuha was getting pretty loose in the lips and was on the verge of spilling the very information on which Hiro had started this odd…quest for.

"So…what was that old inventor getting on about? Demons with fangs? And wings? I've sure never heard of such things."

"He…they…exist. I…had a brother….once…" sputtered Tatsuha between hiccups. "This…witch…girl…thing…changed him…into a monster…"

"A monster, eh?" replied Hiro with peaking regret mixed with curiosity. "Never seen one of those, either."

"I'm serious, man…he's real messed…up. Him and…my sister…and her husband…" Tatsuha lamely said as he hic-ed his way through another ale. "They're….in….this castle place…in the woods…"

Within the next fifteen minutes Tatsuha had told the story and whereabouts of the castle, all the while teetering on the edge of passing out.

After paying the bartender for the pile of empty ales, Hiro said an unnecessary 'good-bye' to Tatsuha, who had recently passed out at the bar. He mentally concluded that the money and the whole experience had been worth the trouble for he now knew of the location of the….enchanted castle.

As he walked through the colorful evening atmosphere to the inventor's small house, Hiro was wondering what the hell Shuichi had gotten himself into this time 'round. It seemed that every time Hiro had come back to visit, his reckless friend had somehow gotten into some kind of insanely weird and troublesome predicament.

Approaching the odd looking door, Hiro decided not to knock and go right in. K loved surprises.

"K? You in there? It's me, Hiro. I'm back in town. Hello? K?" called Hiro as he walked into the cramped foyer. "K? I'm here to ask some questions about where Shuichi is. I want to go check it out. K? Are you even here?"

Hiro's calls were answered only by complete silence. The now worried adolescence wandered through the quiet house, beginning to reach one conclusion: That K had already left to go back for him. With this new thought, Hiro became even more worried. K on his own out in the wilderness was most definitely not a good thing. Even K just on his own ANYWHERE was not a good thing.

Walking out the door, Hiro went over his plan mentally. First, he would find this 'castle' place. Then, in the dead of night, he would sneak in, and locate his friend's whereabouts, if he was even there. Following that he would sneak back out, and wait for another quiet night. Finally, he would get back into the castle, and get himself and Shuichi out of there. After all of this, he and Shuichi would make their way back to village, and await K's return.

Climbing onto his horse, Hiro spurred him toward the nearest northern village, just like Tatsuha had described twenty minutes earlier. Meanwhile, a mile and a half ahead, K was rapidly approaching the beginning of the woods, and the crossroads.

* * *

"Umm…Shuichi? Are you awake yet?" whispered Sakano as he prodded the sleeping boy.

The only thing that followed the clock's timid question was undaunted silence and small snores coming from Shuichi. This of course was not a good thing, due to fact that the Master had seemed very impatient and almost anxious for the boy to wake up. Sakano had an idea why, but he had no intention of proving his clock intuition.

"Uhhh…Sakano? Where are we? Are we dead yet? Did Yuki kill us already?" mumbled the boy as he came to.

"No…The Master didn't kill us…yet. He just wanted me to escort you to your quarters as soon as you woke up, so we had better get moving."

"But I want to stay and see the pretty pony…" mumbled the sleep-drunken boy as he unsteadily walked out of the dining room.

As the odd duo ascended the stairs, they were intercepted by none other than Yuki.

"Give her to me, Sakano. I'll take over things from here." muttered the sullen demon.

"Of course, Sire!" answered Sakano promptly.

"Shuichi, didn't I tell you to stay away from that candlestick?" asked the demon quietly, yet menacing as soon as they were away from Sakano.

"Yes…but…."

"No. No 'buts' about it! This is MY castle, MY rules, and if you can't get that through your impenetrably thick skull than I'm going to THROW YOU OUT A WINDOW! Yelled Yuki as the trembling Shuichi made a mad dash for his room. "AND DON'T COME BACK OUT UNTIL I SAY SO!"


	5. Part 2 of Part 2

(A/N: These next parts are not included in Beauty and the Beast but I thought that they would sufficiently add to the story so…here they are. Enjoy.)

"Fine. If he wants it that way then so be it. He wants to be in charge…well then good for him. But he's going to regret the day he provoked Shuichi Shindou." Muttered a VERY ticked Shuichi an hour later. "If he wants a war, then by god he sure as hell has one."

Chuckling loudly, he decided to unload any possessions that he might have on him. He had brought a bag with him that included all of the essentials for his survival: a stereo, Grasper CDs, strawberry pocky, socks, bright colored paint, and some strawberry shampoo so he could look and smell pretty. (Don't ask how or why…this is supposed to take place in the middle ages isn't it! )

The brightly colored boy then grabbed the pocky and began to form Phase One of…"The Tick-Off Yuki Plan!".

Hiroshi was mad. And not just teed off, but full-out angry that the crazed inventor wielding firearms had managed to evade him so well for the past three hours. He knew for a fact that K was _somewhere_ in the spooky forest, but had no idea where.

"It's not my fault he went and got himself good and lost. Oh well. I have to get to Shu-chan though before something bad happens."

About thirty feet behind Hiro was K, having a fluent conversation with a squirrel. But of course, as we all know K loves his weapons, he currently had a bazooka aimed casually at the squirrel's head.

"Eekk, ee, eeek?" asked K. Translation: Where's the castle?

"Eeek eeer eee…." Answered the petrified squirrel with the oddest look on its face.

"Well…Eek ee." Translation: Thanks anyway.

"What was that all about?" muttered the squirrel as it scampered away as fast as it could, trying to put as much distance possible between itself and the maniac with the long blond hair.

"Well just PEACHY!" screamed an exasperated K as he started randomly firing his gun at trees, having discarded the bazooka next to a smoking tree. "Just friggin PEACHY!"

"Ummm….K?" asked Hiro as he came running down the path, trying to dodge the still-flying bullets. "How did you get behind me? You had a HUGE head start!"

"I got lost, and then I tried to ask a squirrel where we were and then I found you, I guess…" answered K with an angelic gleam in his eyes.

"Seriously. What were you really doing? Planning an ambush?" said Hiro as he suspiciously narrowed his steely gray eyes.

"Of course I was! For I am Mr. K! Muhahahahaha!" replied K as he again started to fire off his gun.

"And people wonder why I don't visit more often."

"Ahem. Enough of that, Hiro. Now we must devise a devious plan to fool the dastardly demon of death!" said K with a manic grin. He plowed on, completely oblivious to the stares he was receiving from a stunned Hiroshi. "I say we movie in tonight, grab Shuichi, and then run for it."

"And if we get caught?" said the all-knowing genius Hiroshi. "And we don't even know where he's being kept!"

"If we get caught, my dear Nakano, then we scream like little girls and beg for mercy. But we won't get caught because I know where Shuichi is being held!" answered K with an evil glint becoming more and more apparent as the seconds ticked by.

"You know where he's being kept?"

"Why of course. In the tower dungeon!"

"K, I'm hoping you're right. Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go storm the castle!" yelled Hiro as he mounted his horse and started down the path, with an over-enthusiastic K running behind him.

* * *

Yuki Eiri was an aspiring writer. He savored the lonely quiet of his castle, his study. As his fingers grasped the pen with fervor and laid out his story on the parchment, his thoughts focused on the girl. Something just didn't feel right whenever he was around her. There was a big piece of the puzzle missing.

"And what the HELL did I do wrong!" he asked the gloomy and dank walls of his sanctuary. "SHE'S the one who suggested the stupid trade in the first place."

While turning this collection of irritations and thoughts, the daydreaming demon was interrupted by incessant knocking, one of the most annoying things to the already peeved demon.

"Hello? I know I'm supposed to be in my room but I got bored and then I decided I wanted to come and see you and apologize for not listening and then I got really bored thinking of how I was going to apologize and then I got lost on the way here and met Tohma and then I disobeyed you again by talking to him and then I thought I had better apologize some more but then I forgot why I was apologizing for in the first place and then…" Shuichi stammered this out and lightning speed and was finally stopped by Yuki who looked murderous and was rubbing his throbbing ears.

"You would have to be the stupidest person I've ever met. Just leave. Now. Before I get angry." Replied Yuki as calmly as he could with his eyes closed, but when he opened them….he was talking to thin air. Shuichi has vanished. "Hmph…maybe he's finally listening to me."

When Yuki turned around to continue his writing however, he found Shuichi placidly sitting at the demon's desk reading what he had just written moments before.

"GET AWAY FROM THE THAT YOU STUPID BRAT! NOW!" screamed the demon as he ran at Shuichi while practically frothing at the mouth. "THAT'S MINE! LEAVE IT ALONE! GET OUT!"

"You can't make me…" sang Shuichi as he quickly grabbed the majority of the scattered parchment and ran around the room gleefully. "You can't catch me, you can't catch me…!"

"I'm giving you until the count of three to return that immediately and escape serious bodily harm. 3….2…1. THAT'S IT! GIVE IT BACK!" spewed Yuki, looking extremely murderous.

Five seconds later he had tackled Shuichi and was attempting to get the parchment back without ripping it, all the while Shuichi was calmly being sat upon and still reading the story. After about ten minutes, the demon finally gave up and took to glaring at the boy who still had his eyes glued to the paper.

"Wow…this is really good." Said the boy quietly when he had finished reading most of the parchment. "I understand you loads better now. Really!" said Shuichi indignantly as the demon raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"If you're finished wallowing in my personal matters will you kindly hand back that parchment? Or am I really going to have to hurt you?" seethed the demon through gritted fangs.

"If you'll let me see the rest. Please?" asked Shuichi, firing up the known "Shuichi Eyes Look". "Please, Yuki-san?"

The demon noticeably jumped at the boy calling him this and using that voice and sporting that…that…_look_.

"Fine! We have a deal then?" answered Yuki, extending his clawed hand.

"Yes. A deal it is!" said Shuichi happily as he also extended his hand.

When their hands touched, Shuichi could have sworn he felt a shiver go up and back down his spine. He immediately started to blush beet red and quickly withdrew his hand. Yuki, however, looked nor acted any different but felt something similar. He also pulled his hand away, though rather reluctantly.

Three hours later found them both sound asleep, Shuichi's head drooping slightly onto Yuki's shoulder and Yuki's hand draped around Shuichi's shoulders, clutching the parchment that they had been reading. Tohma entered the room once, hoping to catch a glimpse of his recently misplaced boa, but left when he heard loud yelling that threatened to wake the master coming from the tower dungeon. He quickly exited the west wing and scampered off toward the dungeons.

* * *

"I thought you said you knew where you were going you twit!" hissed Hiro angrily into K's ear as he continued to curse loudly, his voice echoing off the walls. "And would you shut up!"

Five seconds later a very disgruntled candlestick and a very scared clocks came screeching to a halt in the dungeons to find the two men having a heated argument.

"Excuse me _gentlmen_. You are currently trespassing and should give up immediately before you require us to use force." Said Tohma in his scary voice. Behind him Sakano promptly passed out at the sight of K whipping out a gun and Hiro cracking his knuckles. "Wait a moment…You're that boy's father, aren't you?"

"Yes I am and I want to know what you've done with my son!" shrieked K at the unshaken candlestick.

"Yeah he's my best friend and we're NOT leaving without him!" added Hiro with conviction.

"Then it looks like you'll be here for a very long time. Shuichi is currently in the company of the master. You would be condemning yourself to death if you were to try an attempt at rescue now. May I offer you an uncomfortable cell why you wait?" with these last words Tohma whipped out his recently acquired boa(Mika had hidden it) and jumped on the two stunned men.

After successfully lassoing them, he dragged them into the nearest cell and loudly slammed the door.

"That should hold 'em." Smirked the victorious candlestick as he carted his colleague off to his quarters.

* * *

Yuki woke with a start. Taking in his surroundings, he smirked. He had finally won the girl over. As he gently picked her up and placed her on his bed, many different thoughts were swarming in Yuki's mind. All the things he _could _do, and then why he shouldn't do them. All too soon though, she started to wake up.

"Mmmm…where am I?" said Shuichi sleepily as he attempted to sit up on the oversized four poster bed. "Yuki-san? What's going on?"

"Nothing you shouldn't have been expecting. You did agree to be my mistress after all." Replied the demon, starting to smile.

"Ya know…I never really figured out what that meant. The candlestick wouldn't tell me." Said Shuichi as he tried to suppress a yawn, but instead just flopped back onto the comfortable mattress.

"I didn't know anyone could be that thick. Oh well. You'll find out soon enough." And with that Yuki flopped down next to the now apprehensive teen and began to kiss his neck.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU MMMPHHH!" squalled Shuichi before Yuki could clamp a powerful hand over his mouth.

"Would you shut up! I don't want the whole castle to come running!" muttered Yuki to the squirming boy. "Just keep quiet and you won't get hurt."

All this remarked awarded the demon was a terrified glance of surrender from the horrified teen. The demon then continued to kiss the boy's neck and worked his way to his lips. Shuichi had stopped trying to get away and was starting to enjoy himself without fully realizing it. Yuki started to pull off Shuichi's shirt but when he succeeded in this task, he let out a scream of rage.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"What do you mean, 'What the hell'?" asked the startled teen.

"You..you…you're a guy! Oh my God!" exclaimed the demon with a look of shock upon his face. Then he registered that he had just kissed another man. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT! NOW! LEAVE! GET OUT!"

Shuichi grabbed his shirt and ran for it, Yuki following close behind screaming insults at him. He practically fell down the stairs and the demon gave up and returned to the West Wing. Shuichi encountered Sakano and Tohma on the way, but jumped over them and continued running for the door.

"Master! Master? Eiri? We need your help!" screamed Tohma as loud as he could when he saw the frightened boy come speeding by. "EIRI!"

"If you EVER call me that again you insolent little twig of a candlestick, you'll regret every living second afterwards!" hissed the demon savagely as he appeared suddenly behind Tohma and Sakano.

"I'm sorry my Liege, but the girl is gone!" squealed Tohma.

"THAT is NOT a GIRL! And good riddance. At least he knows how to listen better than you."

"Please, sir, she…I mean he…needs help! I heard the wolves howling!" pleaded the now desperate candlestick.

"If anything he owes me for not killing him. I refuse to help him." Answered Yuki firmly, though on the inside he was seriously considering going after Shuichi.

"Eiri-san, please. If you won't help him than I will!" replied Tohma as he started to the door. And he would have lived up to his word if the demon hadn't beaten him to the door.

"It's my fault he's out there, I'll go." Said the demon in a resigned but worried tone, which was an extremely rare combination of emotions for the demon.

* * *

Once outside, he quickly found his horse and took off for the woods, trying to remember how to get home. After about two minutes of riding fast and hard, Shuichi heard distinct howling in the distance and began to feel panicky. He was afraid of the wolves and had no means of defending himself.

When he entered the next clearing, about seven wolves emerged from the trees and surrounded the now terror-stricken horse. Shuichi failed to notice one of the wolves appearing to his right and only noticed its presence when it had pulled him completely out of the saddle. This scaring the horse even more, it started to wildly kick its back legs, one of these kicks catching Shuichi in the stomach and sending him flying into a nearby tree.

The boy looked around and to his surprise, his shirt had gotten caught in the tree branches, holding him barely out of the wolves reach. He breathed a sigh of relief but then wondered how he was going to get out of this one. As he thought this, his shirt suddenly ripped a little and his legs were now in reach of the wolves. Hoping that death would come quickly the boy closed his eyes and waited for the pain.

But it never came. Instead he heard a yelp of pain from one of the wolves and cursing that sounded very familiar. He slowly opened his eyes and found Yuki, by himself, fighting off the wolves, the horse still caught in the tree. Shuichi couldn't believe it.

After about five minutes of fighting, the wolves finally gave up, and so did Yuki. As soon as the wolves were gone, he collapsed in the snow and did not get back up. Shuichi let out a scream and tried to frantically get loose. He eventually succeeded and fell into a large pile of snow. Running over to the injured demon, Shuichi rolled him over and let out a gasp.

There was a large gash on his pale arm. It was bone-deep and Shuichi felt suddenly sick. There was blood everywhere, as the demon had three more cuts just like it on his legs and chest. With strength Shuichi never knew he had, he somehow managed to lift the demon up onto the now calm horse. Grabbing the reins, he slowly started back toward the castle, all the while pondering why the demon had come to rescue him in the first place.

Another thought surfaced to the boy's mind as they neared the castle….his feelings for the demon. He did not hate him, nor did he love him. Yet, he was sure there was something more than friendship lingering in his heart. Shuichi stopped in his tracks at this new revelation.

"I can't, just _can't_, like him! No!" said the boy to himself while smacking himself in the forehead. "No! I just can't! Oh my god…I'm actually falling in love with him…No…this isn't right…but it's true…I'm falling for him."

All too soon they had reached the castle doors where the entire staff was awaiting their master's return. Mike fainted when she saw her brother covered in blood, Sakano ran away, Judy and Michael sped off to get hot water and antiseptic, while Tohma just stood there stunned.

"M-mmm…mmaster?" stammered the worried candlestick.

"Tohma…I need your help…take the horse and tell me where the nearest chair is." Requested the shivering boy, seeing as he was wearing a thin shirt and pants. "Please hurry."

"Of course…" answered Tohma as he grabbed the reins and told Shuichi where to go.

When the boy and the still unconscious demon reached the living room area, Judy and Michael were waiting for them with rags and antiseptic water.

"Thanks Judy." Said the boy as he draped the bloody demon in his winged armchair. "We should probably wake him up, right?"

"You're on your own if you do kid."

Taking a deep breath, saying last minute prayers, and hoping to Buddha that he wouldn't get murdered, Shuichi grabbed a wet rag and started to dab at the gash in Yuki's arm. .08 seconds later, however…

"BLOODY HELL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT! GET AWAY FROM ME! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OWWWW!"

"Please calm down Yuki-san…I'm sorry…I'm just trying to help.." stuttered the boy as he dodged a well-placed swing at his head by the angered demon. "THAT WAS UN-NECESSARY! I'M TRYING TO HELP AHHH!"

The demon's fist made contact with Shuichi's head, knocking him clean off his feet and slamming him into the stone fireplace.

"Oww…" said the boy as he tried to collect himself so that he could be prepared to dodge more attempts on his life. He started to look at the winged armchair but instead found the demon six inches from his face, looking worried.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted…again." And thus Shuichi heard probably the only apology ever said by Yuki Eiri. "You were just trying to help."

And then Yuki got up and sat back down.

"I won't try to kill you this time if you're not afraid to come closer." Said the demon with a challenging tone.

Reluctantly the boy walked back over to the demon and grabbed the rag. Yuki eyed it suspiciously before allowing Shuichi to come any closer. But when the rag made contact with his wounds, the demon was NOT happy.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't of run away!" accused the demon in a bitter tone.

"I wouldn't have run away, but you threw me out!" said Shuichi in an equally icy tone.

"Well you shouldn't have been in MY room in MY West Wing! You shouldn't have been in my bed!" the demon regretted these words immediately because Shuichi let out a snarl of contempt and launched his counterattack.

"Damn right! What the hell's wrong with you! Pervert! YOU were the one trying to molest me!" retorted the now angry teen.

"This is MY castle and I'll do what the hell I want whether it involves you or not!" said the demon with a tone of finality in his voice.

"Sicko…" muttered the boy as he again reached for the rag. "But…thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome." Replied the demon in a very tender way.

After about twenty minutes of Yuki's screaming and Shuichi's pleading, all of the wounds had been properly cleaned and sterilized.

"There…all done." Said Shuichi happily as he went to leave.

"Hmph. Well…thank you." Answered the demon in a sullen voice.

"Goodnight, Yuki-san." Chirped Shuichi as he started to head back toward the West Wing. However, he was stopped by a strong hand closing over his wrist. "Hey…let go." Said Shuichi, half-hoping that Yuki wouldn't listen.

"Why should I?" replied the demon, pulling the boy closer and kissing him on the lips. As they broke away, Shuichi returned the kiss much to the demon's surprise.

"Goodnight Yuki." Said the boy as he this time successfully left for the East Wing. He casually looked over his shoulder as he left, noticing that he had left the demon speechless. Smiling to himself, Shuichi climbed the stairs and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

Yuki however, spent his night pacing, not being able to block the boy's image from his mind.

"He kissed me…that means he must not hate me…obviously you idiot…" said the demon as he continued his eerie pacing. "I can't be serious…No…I can't like him…No. Yes. It's true…I'm falling for him." Muttered the demon to his empty and cold hovel.


	6. Part 1 of Part 3

When Shuichi awoke the next morning, he was extremely happy. He had finally gotten on the demon's good side and no longer felt the need to annoy him. That is, until he found out about the two new prisoners from the screaming match going on downstairs. Apparently, Yuki had also discovered his dungeon to be a little bit more cramped and was not at all happy about it.

"I TOLD YOU NO MORE PRISONERS, YOU STUPID CANDLESTICK!" screamed Yuki at his defiant head of staff.

"THEY WERE HERE TO TAKE SHUICHI! I THOUGHT I WAS DOING YOU A FAVOR!" replied the angry candle.

"DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN! NO MORE PRISONERS! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN ASK! GET THEM OUT! NOW!" yelled Yuki as he started advancing on Tohma and his feather boa.

"Ummm…Love and Peace guys…" said Shuichi quite calmly as he descended the large staircase. "Love…and…Peace."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean! GET LOST!" retorted the snarling demon, even though he had immediately stopped trying to murder his head of staff as soon as the boy entered the war. "Stay out of it."

"He's right you know…I was only trying to help out and you're DEFINITELY overreacting." Said Tohma with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice.

"Get. Lost. Now. Tohma." Seethed the demon as he stalked off to the dungeons, boa in one hand, Shuichi's wrist in the other. "I'll take…_care of_ the prisoners. And with that he disappeared down the hallway, dragging a very worried Shuichi behind him.

"K?" whispered Hiro quietly into the sleeping man's ear. "K? K!"

"I didn't do it!" screamed K as he came to. "I swear…I didn't shoot the guy…I didn't!"

"Shut up you idiot! This is all YOUR fault!" snarled Hiro as he attempted to strangle K. "You were wrong!"

"Well excuse me! No one asked you to come along! It is MY son after all!"

"Oh give it a rest! He's my best friend!"

"Why don't you both give it a rest and stop bickering like a bunch of idiotic two years olds! I get enough of stupidity from him." Sneered the demon as he gestured toward Shuichi while entering the dungeon.

"Shu! Are you all alright!" shrieked K as soon as he saw his son in one piece.

"Shuichi! I thought you'd be dead by now!" exclaimed Hiro when he caught sight of his best friend.

"Guys…you REALLY shouldn't be here…" said Shuichi as he entered the dungeon still being dragged around by Yuki. "You really shouldn't have come."

"Shut up!" snarled Yuki as he threw the boy to the ground and ordered him to stay put. "I'll take care of this."

Ten seconds later, Yuki had opened the window, grabbed Hiro, and was dangling him out by his feet when something stopped him.

"Yuki! Please! Don't!" choked Shuichi between heavy tears. "Please!"

"One good reason. Give me ONE good reason. They're trespassing and trying to break our deal. I'm not about to let that happen, understood?" retorted the pissed demon.

"He's my friend….he didn't know any better! My idiot father probably tricked him into coming! Please don't' kill him!" answered Shuichi while still sobbing.

"Fine. But you owe me." Snorted Yuki as he stared at the teen and threw the prisoner to the floor. "Get out. Both of you."

The prisoners both walked away surprisingly uninjured, though they left a very distraught Shuichi behind. His only chance for rescue had come, and he had blown it. Maybe Yuki was right. Maybe he was just an idiot after all.

"Let's go, brat. Now."

"Coming…" replied Shuichi droopily as he slowly started to follow Yuki down the winding stairs.

"You disobeyed me. I told you to be quiet. You owe me double. One for not punishing you, and another for not killing your stupid rescue party." Spat the peeved demon when they had reached the main hall. "Go to your room and just stay there. I'll come get you later on."

"Yes, sir." Muttered the unhappy boy in response. "Hey…Yuki?"

"What, punk?"

"What do you want me to do to pay you back?"

"I'll think of something, you think of something. Surprise me. BUT! If you injure my staff, my castle, or me, you're dead meat. Understood?" replied the demon with a smirk clouding his handsome features.

"Right. I'll get to work on my part of the surprise!" sang the now energetic boy as he took off for the kitchens. "And don't' worry!" he called back as he saw the look of horror on Yuki's face at the thought of Shuichi cooking.

"Heh…him…cooking….heh, heh, heh…." Laughed Yuki in a manic way as he flew into the rafters to await his surprise.

"Hey Judy? JUDY!" called Shuichi as he skipped into the kitchen. "Where's the flour?"

"Why?" asked the teapot in a sly and worried tone. "You don't need flour."

"I want to make cookies for Yuki. I owe him a favor." Answered the boy with a large amount of energy, seeing it was already six o'clock at night. He was a late sleeper.

"Fine. DISHES! Get in here and help him!"

Half an hour later, Shuichi had apparently attempted to concoct ginger cookies and had somehow managed to insert doughy lumps into the gurgling and angry stove. Feeling quite proud of himself, he turned around to face the cleanup, but his emotions of hope immediately vanished. Standing in the door was a very surprised Yuki. You could even say he was flabbergasted.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY KITCHEN!" screeched Yuki as he saw that the entire kitchen was covered in flour.

"Ummm…I cooked?" answered Shuichi quietly, but at that precise moment, the stove caught on fire and started running around the kitchen screaming at the top of its lungs. "Oops…"

"DAMMIT!" screamed Yuki as he dodged the flaming stove. "PUT YOURSELF OUT ALREADY!"

The stove immediately un-ignited itself. It then ran back to its original spot and spat out the crusty cookie dough, causing Shuichi to scream and dive out of the way. Shuichi then noticed that there was still fresh smoke coming from somewhere. And then he saw it. Yuki's baggy shirt sleeve was on fire.

Trying not to alert the already angered demon, the boy crept towards him slyly. Yuki stared at him oddly, but let him come closer. When Shuichi was within a couple feet of the fire, Yuki suddenly noticed and started screaming, causing Shuichi to cover his ears and run for his life.

"I'M ON FIRE! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" accused the flaming demon. "AND WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING! PUT OUT THE DAMN FIRE!" ordered Yuki as he saw Shuichi running for his life in the opposite direction.

Ten minutes later the fire had been put out, Shuichi was, for the moment, in one piece, and the kitchen was well on its way to being cleaned up.

"That's it. Bed. You. NOW!" ordered Yuki as he pointed a clawed finger toward the East Wing. "NOW!"

"Alright, alright…I'm going!" answered Shuichi as he dodged a heavy mixing spoon aimed at his head by the demon.

The next morning the whole castle was up and around bright and early, all except for Yuki of course. He had spent the night thinking up ways of torturing the pesky youth without really hurting him. He slept in late, and was not happy to find Shuichi already out of his room and already proving that he was indeed an idiot.

The boy was running around in a pair of boxers and a loose shirt, fully equipped with knee-socks. He appeared to be sliding down the stair railing, and jumping off before he reached the end and then proceeding to slide across the main hall all the while screaming.

"What are you doing? Or do I even want to know?" questioned the demon with an interested yet scared expression on his face.

"AHHHH! You scared me…sorry…Just exploring." Answered Shuichi innocently as he slid and slipped back up the staircase to start his routine over.

"Whatever." Muttered the demon as he started the descend the large staircase. "Just don't bother meaaaAHHHHHH! OWWW!"

The boy had slid into Yuki, knocking them both down the painfully long MARBLE staircase. They spilled into the great hall and ended up hitting a wall. After the dust cleared(lazy servants, eh?) the two were found as Shuichi sitting on top a very annoyed and pissed demon who was gritting his teeth and emitting an odd hissing noise.

Much to Shuichi's surprise, the hissing noise was actually Yuki laughing. His face contorted so that it looked almost painful, the demon lay there chuckling, staring at the startled boy still sitting on top of him.

"Ummm…..Yuki?"

"What?" answered the demon, still chortling.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes. You couldn't hurt me even if you tried, brat."

"Wanna bet?" said Shuichi with a mean smile, pounding his small fist into his palm.

This only made Yuki start laughing harder, and Shuichi promptly came to the conclusion that the demon must be drunk on some foreign substance. The laughter finally subsided and allowed Yuki to breathe again and speak to the still staring boy. Who was still sitting on him, though neither of them seemed to care very much.

"Shuichi?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something I want to ask you." Replied Yuki in a very tender tone. Shuichi was touched, thinking something nice, or maybe even romantic was about to be said.

"Really?"

"Really…" said Yuki, pretending to act shy. "Well….the thing is…May I eat your horse?"

"WHAT! NOOOO! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU! WHO ASKS A QUESTION LIKE THAT AFTER ALL THAT BUILDUP! YOU'RE PHYSCO!"

"Ya know…you don't really have a choice."

"YOU ARE NOT EATING MY HORSE!"

"Fine…Then at least come and keep me company at dinner. I think Tohma's been poisoning the food he keeps slipping you."

"Dinner?" replied the now touched boy. "With you?"

"Why not? I'll come and get you when it's time. Until then, NO MORE SOCKS."

The demon then disappeared off to the West Wing, humming to himself. Shuichi got up off of the cold floor and practically floated back to the East Wing. He fully realized it now. He was for sure falling in love with the demon.

* * *

Meanwhile, back to Yuki's POV.

He had decided. He definitely refused to fall in love with the boy. Yes, he liked him. Yes, he was killer hot, and yes, he wanted to sleep with him. But he had to control himself. And he WOULD NOT fall in love with the boy. Absolutely not. Not him.

Even though falling in love and having that love returned meant breaking the curse, Yuki found himself sadly not caring about that anymore. Some three days ago, all the demon could ever think about was breaking the curse. Now the only thing on his mind was the boy.

"Its only been three or four days….How could I already be falling for him?" muttered the demon as he passed into an uneasy sleep for his afternoon siesta. The nap was a very short one, however, because he was interrupted by Shuichi ten minutes after falling asleep.

"Yuki? Yuki…?" questioned the boy quietly as he reached out a finger to poke the demon. As his finger made contact with the sleeping demon's ear, Yuki woke up and Shuichi had to dodge flying objects for five minutes before the demon was calm enough to have a peaceful conversation.

"Yuki?"

"What do you want, brat?"

"About dinner…can I pick what we have? I mean…" said Shuichi quietly, fearing rejection. However, he was cut off before he could finish his request.

"Sure. I don't care. Go tell Judy. And then go back to your room and STAY there. Understood!"

"Thanks!" sang the boy as he kissed Yuki on the cheek and then ran for the kitchens to tell Judy of his marvelous dinner plans.

Yuki stood staring after the boy for five minutes, holding the cheek that Shuichi has kissed. Trying to free his mind of the youth, he concentrated on the upcoming dinner. He felt a mixture of apprehension caused by fear of what Shuichi could have come up with and apprehension caused by nerves of screwing things up with the boy.


	7. Part 2 of Part 3

"Hey Judy, what's up?" asked Shuichi politely as he came sidling into the kitchen with an innocent glint in his violet eyes. "Busy cooking?" 

"What are you up to?" answered the teapot while she gave a list of ingredients to a nearby flour bag.

"Yuki-san invited me to dinner and said I could pick what we eat…and I HATE meat…" said the boy as he nervously stared at his feet. "I was thinking salads or something…could you do that?"

"I can do anything, salads are especially easy, but the master is NOT going to like this. He's completely carnivorous." Said Judy matter-of-factly.

An hour later the salad was well on its way to being completed, and Shuichi was gathering anxiety like a squirrel gathers nuts. He kept hearing Judy's words echoing in his head like an ominous warning. "the master is not going to like this. He's completely carnivorous." Shaking off his feelings of dread, Shuichi climbed the stairs with Tohma to fetch the demon for dinner. After approaching the door to Yuki's private chambers, Shuichi immediately felt the wave of anxiety he had tried so hard to rid himself of. Frantic thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to comprehend the meaning of the dinner and prior events. What if Yuki gets really angry because of the salad? What if I screw up and land myself in the dungeon, or get thrown out again? And, what if everything goes really well and I end up on the other side of this door? And by the way, what is the meaning of life?  
Even though he had no answers to the first three questions, Shuichi automatically recalled the final answer from a book he remembered reading long ago. Something to do with Magrathea and something or someone named Deep Thought. As these thoughts were having a Nascar race inside of Shuichi's head, Tohma was going through the motions of physcing himself up for summoning the demon to dinner. As he was about to knock, Shuichi let out an odd gurgling sound, went deathly pale, burst out laughing, and then finished it all off with screaming the number 42 and running down the hall screaming bloody murder.

"Why does the master even bother with him?" the candlestick asked the before considered empty hallway. "He's so stupid."

"At least he makes better company than you do." Said the demon in a menacing tone, protecting Shuichi's now lost dignity. "Find him and make sure he gets to the dining room in one piece, or I promise you that I WILL take the boa. Now go. Understood?"

"Sure, sure. Don't get your wings in a knot." Muttered the sullen candlestick as he hopped down the hallway.

Meanwhile, in the East Wing, Shuichi had buried his head in his pillow to stifle his insane lunatic laughing.

"42…42…42! It's the ultimate answer!" said the boy to the quiet calm of his room.

As he lay on the bed, starting to mellow out from all of the laughing, he again considered his thoughts from earlier. He had answered the first two and obviously the last one. The third question was still nagging him painfully in the back of his mind.

"Well…if he doesn't like the salad, that's his own fault. He let me decide what to have for dinner. And he doesn't seem the type to throw someone out again, especially now that he knows my secret and seems to accept it. But…what if everything goes great? What then? Maybe I should just jump out the window…then I wouldn't have to worry about all of this." Said the teen as he sat thinking aloud on his very squishy bed. "I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself anyway…and besides…. I wasn't exactly complaining last time but then he got all psychotic and threw me out. Oh, I don't know what to do! 42!"

Tohma chose this moment to walk into Shuichi's room to tell him that he was promptly expected for dinner.

"Let's go Shuichi…Eiri-san is waiting."

"Ok. We better get going." Sighed the boy as he resigned himself to his fate, for better or for worse.

Upon entering the dining room, Shuichi had to stifle a gasp. For once Yuki has discarded his usual ensemble of raggedy and torn clothing for clothes that were hole-free. Shuichi had to admit, it was a very pleasant change. The demon had also combed his hair and looked absolutely wonderful. If it hadn't been for the wings, an outsider would never have known the Yuki was a foul-tempered demon. The table was breath-taking as well. Judy had laid out the best tablecloth and candlesticks. A gigantic green leaf salad was in the center of the table with the appropriate toppings and condiments surrounding it in almost perfect symmetry. Yuki looked slightly worried about the salad, but his face brightened subconsciously when Shuichi entered the room.

"Shuichi…what the hell is all of this?" asked the demon quietly after Tohma had showed himself out and Judy had left for the kitchens to fetch drinks. "It's green."

"Yeah…you said that I could pick what we ate. You told me that you didn't care." Answered the boy slowly.

"Fine. I don't care. Just sit down so we can get this over with." Said the demon nonchalantly while sitting down.

"Sorry." Replied Shuichi meekly while he also took his seat.

"Wha…That's not-." Stuttered the demon when he heard Shuichi's hurt response. He immediately regretted saying what he had said earlier when he heard the sadness in Shuichi's voice. "I wanted-."

At this moment, Judy came sailing in on her cart with Tohma following behind her.

"I have the drinks. Water only." Said Judy with a wink in Yuki's direction when he shot her a look of pure hatred. "No alcohol."

"Everyone watch out. I'm going to light the candles." Warned Tohma as he tossed aside his feather boa and blew flames out of the top of his head in a wide arc. "Voila! All done. Bon appetite mes amis!"

The two just continued to stare at the salad, Shuichi with a hungry glint, Yuki with growing disgust.

"Judy! Any meat? At all?" said Yuki, his voice changing from firm to pleading in record time. "Please?"

"Just forget it. You don't really want to be here. You don't care. You never will." Said Shuichi with tears starting to fill his eyes. "Insensitive jerk!"

"Fine! I'll eat the salad. Just shut up! You're already giving me a headache." And with that, Yuki tried the salad. He gagged and choked. Shuichi glared daggers his direction. "Eugh…"

"EAT THE SALAD, DAMMIT!"

"SHUT UP!"

Shuichi obeyed the command, as the demon was looking quite outraged. Shuichi quietly poured his favorite dressing on and started to reach for the vegetables. Yuki had discovered the carrots.

"They're orange…" said the demon with a look of awe mixed with fascination. "Interesting."

Without waiting for Shuichi's reply, he speared the carrot on his claw and started roasting it over the nearest candle. He found it very entertaining. Shuichi was…well, flabbergasted.

"Yuki!"

"What? Maybe it'll taste better…"

"It tastes fine normally, stupid!"

"What did you just call me?"

"Uhh…nothing… I swear." With a look of mock defeat, Shuichi grabbed a roll from the table and threw it at the demon as hard as he could. "Eat your vegetables. Even the orange ones."

"What the hell! Who throws a roll? How old are you, six!" exclaimed the angered demon as he grabbed the roll and started to roast it too. "Fire's nice…"

This earned another look of flabbergastation from Shuichi. "I can't believe you! Oh, I give up. Have your disgusting meat." Shuichi muttered. "Cow murderer."

"Alright, I will. Judy! Medium rare steak, pronto!" ordered the demon with a satisfied smirk. "You should try it, veggie boy."

Five uncomfortable minutes later, Shuichi had finished some of his salad, Yuki had completely destroyed an entire carrot and three rolls, and Judy was rolling in with a medium rare steak grilled to perfection.

"Here you go, sir. Enjoy." And with that, she whisked herself away to the kitchens to prepare for cleanup.

"Come on Shuichi, just try a little bit. I tasted that green mush."

"It's NOT mush! And I am a VEGE-tarian. Hmph."

"Have it your way." Said Yuki as he dug into the steak. "Your loss."

"Jeez, I'll try some. Drama demon."

Shuichi stared at Yuki for a minute and then the demon got out of his chair and moved his place setting next to Shuichi's. He cut off a chunk of choice meat, and placed it one Shuichi's plate. Then he calmly picked up his chair again and moved back to his original position. Shuichi was glaring at him again.

"What now?" exclaimed the demon in a frustrated voice. "What were you expecting?"

"Nothing!" shouted Shuichi back, his face turning bright red. He had been hoping for something slightly more…more…romantic. I mean, this was kind of a date, right? "I wasn't expecting anything!"

"Whatever." Said Yuki as he started to cut back into his steak. And then it hit him. Shuichi had expected more. Great. Now the brat thought they were dating. Just great. "I'm not your boyfriend!"

"Wha-! I know that!" sputtered Shuichi as he tried to comprehend what Yuki had just said. I mean, Shuichi knew they weren't dating but still…Yuki had been being really nice lately. "I don't even want you to be my boyfriend…"

At the same moment, Tohma came bursting into the room followed closely by Mika and Judy.

"Did I just hear the word I thought I heard?" asked Tohma anxiously. "OK. Everyone in the room, except Judy and Mika. Which one of you is gay?"

"I'm NOT GAY!" shouted Yuki and Shuichi in unison.

"Then why-" started Mika strongly.

"GET OUT. NOW." Commanded Yuki as he stood up to strangle the nearest savant. "GET OUT!"

Tohma grabbed his boa and ran, Mika glared at her brother and walked out, Judy zoomed off to the kitchens, and Shuichi just started giggling uncontrollably.

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY!" shouted Yuki at the teenager. "THIS IS NOT FUNNY."

"Were they really serious…?" puzzled the now calm teenager.

"Unfortunately, yes. They were."

"But you're not, and I'm not…"

"Not so sure about you…"muttered the demon quietly under his breath.

"I heard that!"

"And just what are you going to do about it, brat?" questioned Yuki with a sly tone to his deep voice.

"This."

Shuichi got out of his chair and walked over to where Yuki was standing, wrapped his arms around the demon's neck, and kissed him.

* * *

"Awww…they're so cute…" said Tohma as he and Mika peeked into the dining room only to see Yuki and Shuichi making out. "Reminds me of when I was younger…"

"You're such an idiot." Said Mika as she walked towards the kitchen to find Judy and Michael.

"Hmmm…there's something there that wasn't there before…" mused Tohma quietly as he continued to watch the couple. "I think this occasion calls for a song."

(A/N: I know the next two parts are out of order. If you're a die-hard movie fan, sorry. If not, never mind. If you don't get the implied joke to this next song…well, think anatomy. And back to the fact that everyone used to think Shuichi was a girl…the song also implies the original meaning from the movie. Definitely more romance now, eh? Hope you enjoy the joke and serious factors of the song.)

Tohma: "Well who'd have thought?" (Tohma beckons to Mika, Judy, Michael, and Sakano to come closer.)

Judy: "Well bless my soul." Sakano: "And who'd have known"  
(All of the servants stare at Sakano with looks of disbelief. "They couldn't have been more obvious…" mutters Mika)  
Judy: "Well who indeed"  
Tohma: "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own"  
Judy: "It's so peculiar"  
ALL: "We'll wait and see a few days more, there may be something there that wasn't there before"  
(All of the servants continue to watch Yuki and Shuichi from the door)  
Sakano: "Yes, perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before"  
Michael: "What"  
Judy: "There may be something there that wasn't there before"  
Michael: "What's there, mama"  
Judy: "I'll tell you when you're older."

"Yes…please do." Said Mika with a sarcastic tone, not having enjoyed the song at all.

"What was all of that singing?" asked Yuki quietly to the boy slumped against the wall next to him.

"I don't even want to know anymore." Answered Shuichi as he scooted closer to the demon.

"Get away from me, brat."

"Hey! That's not nice!"

"Stop complaining. Idiot." Sneered Yuki as he walked towards the door. "Are you coming or not punk?"

"What?"

"Simple question. Are you coming or not?"

"Umm…" stuttered Shuichi as he watched the expression on Yuki's face change from annoyance to frustration. "Why not."

The two made their way out of the dining room and towards the stairs. Shuichi thought they were going to one of the wings, but Yuki had other plans.

"Shuichi?" he asked quietly, moving closer to the boy. "Do you trust me?"

"No…why?"

"Just close your eyes."

"No way! You'll eat me or something!" whined Shuichi in an overly childish voice that was sure to get on Yuki's nerves. "I'm not closing my eyes!"

"Just do it. Now."

"But…"

"NO BUTS. Close your eyes!"

"Fine…but if you do anything…"

"Just trust me."

"Yeah, easy for you to say…" muttered the apprehensive teen as he reluctantly closed his eyes.

Yuki gently pushed his hand into the small of Shuichi's back, leading him down a hallway that no one had ever really bothered to investigate. The mysterious hallway led to a heavily locked door, which the demon began to unlock carefully.

"What's all that clicking?" asked Shuichi nervously.

"Don't talk."

When all of the locks had been removed, Yuki pushed the heavy French doors open to reveal a magnificent room. There were shelves upon shelves of assorted candies, chocolates, and snacks. Yuki had been saving them for a rainy day, but Shuichi was more deserving. Yuki then grabbed Shuichi's wrists and led him into the giant chocolate room. He hoped everything would go well.

"Alright. Open your eyes." Said the demon with obvious worry.

"Ok…Oh my god…" stammered Shuichi after he opened his eyes and looked around the gigantic room. "Is this all candy?"

"Yeah…"

"I've never seen so much sugar in all of my life!" exclaimed the boy happily, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "But…why?"

"It's for you. I hope you like it." Said Yuki as he turned to leave the room for the West Wing.

"Yuki…wait…"

"What, brat?"

"Thank you. I love it."

"You're welcome." Said Yuki while he turned around and walked over to Shuichi. "I guess you deserve it."

"Aww…Please don't start acting like yourself again…"

"Shut up. I'm not that bad." And then Yuki wrapped his arms around Shuichi's waist and pulled him closer. "Am I?"

"I suppose not…" said Shuichi slyly as Yuki leaned in for the kiss. "Nope…not bad at all."


	8. Part 3 of Part 3

Tohma was ecstatic. Shuichi was getting even closer to breaking the curse. It was definitely possible. He couldn't believe how fast things were moving between the boy and Eiri. It might take a little longer for the curse to be broken, as Eiri was stubborn about having feelings for anything, but Tohma's future was looking brighter by the minute.

"Listen, Sakano. We should all make Shuichi feel even more welcome than he already feels. I mean, do exactly what he wants, help him out with random pranks, and such. The curse must be broken." Said Tohma while he and Sakano walked down the hall towards Shuichi's candy room. "For starters, we could clean his candy room."

"I don't know…the master told us not to go in there…" stammered Sakano nervously.

"The master is not our target. Shuichi is. And anyway, I'm under the impression that if we make Shuichi happy, the master will be happy too." Tohma dismissed any more worries from Sakano and sauntered into the candy room. "You get the cleaning supplies. I'll wait here."

With a feeling of impending doom, Sakano hopped out of the room to fetch all of the necessary materials for a large scale clean up.

"I hope Tohma knows what he's doing…"

Back in the candy room, everything was going to hell in a hand basket. Tohma had somehow managed to knock over a very large candelabra and had set three shelves of strawberry candy on fire. And the flames were preparing themselves to take out the chocolate next.

"SHIT! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!" screamed Tohma as he imagined the looks on Shuichi and Yuki's faces when they found out. "I'm dead!"

* * *

"Nya, Yuki?" said Shuichi quietly as he slid into Yuki's bedroom. "Hey!"

"What, brat?" answered Yuki, quickly sliding his writing back into his makeshift desk.

"Want any chocolate or something? I'm going to get some…"

"No. And don't bother me anymore!"

"Sorry…" apologized Shuichi, shutting the door behind him.

"Shuichi, wait…" started Yuki, but the boy had already left for the candy collection. "Damn…"

Slowly walking down the hall, Shuichi was close to tears. He just couldn't figure the demon out. Yuki was as changing as the color of fire. One second red hot, and then jumping to icy blue. And, sometimes, there was that cool orange. And the passionate gold. Sighing to himself, Shuichi locked these thoughts away and concentrated on what chocolate he wanted. But he couldn't get Yuki out of his head.

"What the hell is your problem? Do you like me or not?" he screamed behind him. "Make up your damn mind!"

"Uhh….Shuichi? Are you alright?" came the quiet question from Sakano.

"Wha? Oh, I'm all right. Just…frustrated." Said Shuichi in an exasperated tone. "Really frustrated."

Sakano nodded and attempted to shuffle down the hallway in the direction of the candy room. He was impeded by the weight and size of the broom, mop, and bucket of other random items.

"What are you doing with all of that stuff? Mika-san does all of the cleaning right?" questioned Shuichi with a raised eyebrow. "Right?"

"I'm, I'm…I'm helping Tohma…" answered the clock in a voice echoing from confused lying to defeated quiet.

"Where is Tohma? Where are you cleaning?" asked Shuichi, starting to walk towards the chocolate room.

"Oh…nowhere important. Nothing you need to know about, definitely nothing for the master to hear about….No, nothing…" said Sakano, purposely getting in Shuichi's way to stop him from finding Tohma.

"Stop lying. I'll help you, and about Yuki, I won't tell him anything…" said Shuichi continuing on down the hallway.

"No…no…no thanks…Tohma and I can manage on our own…" responded Sakano, still trying to stop Shuichi from going any closer to the candy room.

"Fine. I was on my way to get some chocolate or candy or something. See you later." Said the boy happily as he skipped the remaining distance to the chocolate room.

"Wait!" screeched Sakano desperately. But Shuichi had already opened the doors to the chocolate room. He again wore a look of flabbergastation plastered on his face.

Shuichi was speechless. All of his precious chocolate. Burning. His delicious candy morsels. On fire.

"I'm going to KILL YOU TOHMA!" screamed Shuichi as he rushed at Tohma with a mad glint in his eye. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

With that, Tohma started screaming prayers to Buddha and running around the room in circles, Shuichi grabbed the mop and swung it over his head screaming bloody murder all the while chasing Tohma in a crazed frenzy. Sakano, meanwhile, had put out the flames, one of his chemical bottles being filled with water.

Tohma eventually slowed to catch his breath, and Shuichi saw his opportunity to take him out. With a bloodthirsty war cry, he threw himself at Tohma. They both went down with a dull thump, rolling across the scorched marble floor. Tohma tried to escape, but Shuichi was much larger than the small candelabra. During the scuffle, Shuichi managed to grab Tohma's boa. He stood up, holding the boa above his head. His face read victorious.

Within five minutes, Shuichi had found some live coals and was roasting Tohma's boa over the fire, cackling like a drunken hag. Tohma was three paces away, pleading for the life of his boa. Shuichi just continued his insane cackle.

"Haven't I told you all enough times to be QUIET?" yelled Yuki as he slammed the doors to the chocolate room open. "Wha-" Yuki paused mid-sentence, shocked at what he saw.

The scene spread out before the demon was indeed shocking, due to the image of the boa bursting into rampant flame.

"Victory is mine!" shouted Shuichi, thrusting a V-sign into the year, all the while smiling like a maniac. "Tee hee."

"You…you…my…boa…." Stammered Tohma at the sight of his precious boa going on to boa heaven. "I…you…no…"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, moron? That's my job, baka." Said Yuki, not bothering to hide the contemptuous anger in his voice. "Give me that."

Yuki snatched the boa away from Shuichi and dunked it in the bucket of water Sakano had brought to quell any rebellious flame. The boa made a hissing noise, the water appeared to be steaming.

"There." Said Yuki, pulling the boa out of the water and handing it over to Tohma. "Leave."

The chaos, for the moment, being over, Yuki took a second to close his eyes and rub his temple. Upon opening his eyes, however, he took into account his surroundings. Charcoaled wood lay everywhere, melted chocolate was oozing past puddles of liquefied candies of all sorts, the immaculate marble floor was covered in ash, and Shuichi was still looking quite murderous, although put down by Yuki's harsh words.

"WHAT IN ALL OF THAT WHICH IS SACRED IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" roared the demon as he picked up the discarded mop and threw it at Shuichi, who jumped out of the way with a loud yelp. "WHY! WHY! WHY ME? YOU IDIOTS!"

"But I didn't do any-" prompted Shuichi quietly, but was quickly silenced by the now very noticeable twitch evolving in Yuki's left eye. "Gulp…"

"TOHMA! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE! NOW!" screamed the demon, his voice trying to crack. "NOW!"

"Yes…master?" squeaked Tohma, clutching his boa to his heart. "I swear I didn't…"

"I told you to stay out of this room. Why don't you ever LISTEN TO ME?" Yuki screamed, his composure leaving him completely. "I can't TAKE THIS ANYMORE, DAMMIT!"

"If I might…Master, we were just trying to help…only trying to make Shuichi happy…" muttered Tohma to the raging beast before him.

"We?" whispered Yuki softly, his voice dripping with malice, eyes contorted with rage. "WHAT WE!"

Following Yuki's last bellow, all hell broke loose. The demon charged at Tohma, changed directions at went after Sakano. Shuichi was still shell shocked and quite angry at being scorned by Yuki.

"STOP!" shouted Shuichi at his loudest, which was pretty loud. A chunk of ceiling plaster then plummeted and clonked Sakano right in the head, succeeding in knocking him out cold.

Yuki stopped chasing Tohma, Tohma slid in some water into the nearest wall, Sakano started drooling, and Shuichi stood in a rage, frothing at the mouth.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS! YOU'RE SUCH A JERK! I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" shouted Shuichi, still at full volume, to Yuki. "YOU'RE SO MEAN TO ME!"

"DON'T SHOUT AT ME! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I CARE?" bellowed the demon back at Shuichi.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I DON'T?"

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU FIRST, JACKASS!"

Grabbing a broom from Sakano's abandoned cleaning heap, Shuichi ran across the room towards Yuki. In response, Yuki spread his wings and jumped, soaring ten feet into the air.

"GET DOWN HERE AND FACE ME, COWARD!"

"What? You too short to reach me?"

"I HATE YOU!"

"No you don't."

"YES I DO!"

"No, you don't." argued Yuki, smiling slightly at the boy's obvious agony. "Don't."

"DO!"

"Don't."

"Do!"

"DON'T DAMMIT!"

"DO!"

Before Yuki could retort, the doors again were slammed open. A shadow fell into view, and suddenly everything grew cold. Sakano awoke and ran to hide. Tohma stopped trying to hide his boa. Yuki stopped hovering over Shuichi. Shuichi, on the other hand, took this as a sign of surrender and whacked Yuki in the head with the broom.

Mika was mad. Her shadow showed her rage, and an impending feeling of doom was mixed within her cold aura. Summoning up her best glare, she marched into the room and chop blocked Shuichi in the back of his knees. He went down with another yelp and crumpled into a heap. Yuki just stared at Mika, hoping he wasn't next. Sensing that her work was completed, Mika gave one last glare at everyone in the room and left, the cold and doom trailing behind her.

"Shuichi?"

"Oww…my knees…" moaned the boy from the floor. "Oww…"

"Hold still." Ordered the demon as he cautiously approached Shuichi. "Don't move."

"Stay away from me. I'm still mad at you…Oww!" said Shuichi as he tried to pull himself into a standing position.

"I said hold still!" said Yuki as he closed the distance between himself and the boy.

Still monitoring Yuki's movements, Shuichi sat back down on the floor and allowed the demon to come closer. Yuki reached the boy and stared at him for a moment before grabbing his arm and hoisting him to his feet, three seconds later lifting him into the air and scooping his free arm under the boy's injured knees.

"Better?"

"Yeah…I suppose." Answered Shuichi with resentment.

"You know you don't hate me."

"You hate me." Said Shuichi quietly. His remark was followed by a long silence as Yuki left the candy room, still holding Shuichi.

"I don't hate you, Shuichi." Replied Yuki quietly, his voice hiding pain.

"Yuki…"

"What now?"

"Where are we going?"

"To your room." Answered the demon, glad to put the uncomfortable silence behind them.

"Alright. Hey Yuki?"

"What?"

"Are you sure you don't hate me? Because you're awfully mea-". Shuichi tried to ask, but was silenced by a quick kiss from Yuki.

"I'm sure." Answered the demon in a low tone. He then set the boy down next to the East Wing doors, and kissed him again. "Don't bother me tonight."

Leaving Shuichi behind and heading for the West Wing, Yuki had a plan. This was the perfect way to secure his goal; getting Shuichi to fulfill his end of the deal, all while with consent. He had to admit though; there was more than lust in his mind. He felt something for Shuichi, but would never let that slip out to anyone. As far as he was concerned, Shuichi's only purpose here would be to hold up his end of the deal until he was tired of him.

"This should work. By the end of the night, all of his annoying qualities will have redeemed themselves." Said Yuki in a devilish tone, thinking only of the impending hours of the night. "Now to get Judy in on it…"

Walking quietly through the blinding afternoon sun blasting through the castle windows, the guilt started to set in. Yuki pondered this as he continued toward the kitchens. He had already decided within his personal counsel that he would not fall for Shuichi. He was just a mistress, for lack of a better word. Not someone to get attached to. Someone to sleep with. And that was it.

Even though Yuki was forcing himself to believe these thoughts, he still couldn't displace a more refined feeling than lust towards Shuichi. There was more, an emotion refusing to let go of his heart, but remaining elusive. Not wanting to be seen, to be removed, or to be recognized. No matter how hard he concentrated on the task at hand, Yuki still couldn't shake this emotion, and instead decided to ignore it and continue with his plan.

Having reached the kitchens, he opened the door and walked inside to find Judy, greatly in need of her assistance if everything were to work out.

"Judy! A word, if you please." Called Yuki as he continued into the linen storage area of the monstrous kitchen. "Judy!"

"Yes, sir? What can I do for you?" asked Judy in an exasperated voice as she backed out of a nearby closet, three towels balancing on her head. "I'm a little busy…"

"I don't care. Get Tohma to take over for you. I need a favor."

"Anything, sir. And I'm sure Tohma will be absolutely delighted to take over in here…" replied Judy, ending her answer with sarcasm.

"I'll use the proper leverage to get him in here. Now about that favor…" said the demon, leading Judy back into the kitchens, and changing his voice into a low whisper.

"Can you do that?" he said later, after filling Judy in on his request. "I'll get Sakano to deliver it to the proper location."

"Of course, sir. No problem at all. I'll have it whipped up in a jiffy." Answered Judy with a swift nod of her head and a smile. "Dishes!"

Feeling quite satisfied, Yuki exited the kitchens and went off to find Tohma, and the required leverage.

* * *

Shuichi couldn't have been happier. In his mind, he was making progress with the demon, and his personal feelings had evolved way past simply 'like'. He wasn't in love, but he was getting pretty close. Yuki was everything. Looks. Intelligence. A little lacking in niceties such as personality and violence, but Shuichi was willing to overlook the little things.

Yuki has also apparently forgotten or changed his mind about the deal Shuichi had made with him. Shuichi felt largely relieved about this, not wanting to have to sleep with Yuki just because of a deal. He wouldn't mind sleeping with Yuki if that's what the demon wanted. But not because of some stupid trade.

"I'm glad he's not collected on it…" Shuichi murmured to his ceiling. "I suppose he must have forgotten."

Rolling over to take a late afternoon nap after his eventful morning, Shuichi smiled to himself, thinking only of Yuki.

Two hours later, he was awakened by loud knocking on his door.

"Shuichi? Wake up and open the door!" shouted Yuki through the thick wooden door. "Are you even in there?"

"Coming, coming…" replied Shuichi sleepily, rolling out of bed and stifling a yawn as Yuki got the door open and came into the room. "Hey!"

"What?" said Yuki, staring at Shuichi, who was wearing nothing but shorts. "What's your problem?"

"Stop staring at me!" screeched Shuichi, diving back into the bed.

"I'm giving you until the count of five to grow up. 1….2….3….4…" said Yuki, watching the lump of covers that was Shuichi. "5."

Having reached five, Yuki walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers. Stopping to watch Shuichi next action, the demon stood at the side of the bed. When Shuichi didn't get up, get grabbed his arm and hoisted him out of the bed forcefully. They stood like that for a few moments, Shuichi up against Yuki with the demon still holding his arm, before Shuichi pulled away to find his clothes.

Yuki almost couldn't contain himself. If his master plan failed, he was going to collect on the trade, one way or another. He couldn't last much longer, never doing more than like the dining room, never past second base. He needed more. And soon.

"Ready?" asked Yuki after Shuichi had gotten dressed.

"Ready for what?" came the slightly nervous reply.

"You'll see. Just follow me." Said Yuki, his voice switching into a low tone.

"Ok…" said the teen, still apprehensive.

After five minutes of traveling through the castle, the two finally emerged onto a place never before visited. The roof.

"Yuki…what are we doing here?" asked Shuichi tentatively, fearing that the demon might through him off like any old prisoner. He instinctively stepped back towards the door.

"Come here. I'm not going to throw you off."

"Promise?"

"Get over here, brat."

"Fine…" said Shuichi, walking over to where Yuki was waiting for him.

Wrapping his arms around Shuichi's waist and kissing his neck, Yuki spread out his wings silently. Then he jumped up a few feet and remained hovering. Sensing the wind, Yuki glided over the castle wall and towards the woods surrounding it. Shuichi just screamed.

"PUT ME DOWN!" howled the scared teenager. "NOW!"

"If that's what you want…" said Yuki, allowing the boy to slip a few inches.

"AHHH! PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP!"

"Calm down…I'm not going to drop you, I won't let you fall. You're safe." Said the demon in a reassuring tone of voice. "I promise."

"Ok…but, what are you doing?"

"I know this place…"

"So what is this place, and why are we going there?"

"You talk too much."

"Why are we doing this?" questioned the boy as Yuki started to move faster in the direction of some taller shade trees. "What is this exactly?"

"If you want me to tell you it's a date, I'm not going to."

"But there's no one around this time…not like when we had dinner and Tohma came in and then Mika-"

"Again. You talk too much. Be quiet until we get there."

"All right, Yuki." Answered Shuichi, snuggling into Yuki's chest and placing his hands on Yuki's. In response, Yuki just gave a small smile that no one would ever know about.

After ten minutes of flight, the two reached Yuki's spot. It was a glade next to a beautiful river and waterfall. As they landed, two deer scampered off, heading home for the evening.

"Here we are." Said Yuki, letting go of Shuichi and walking over the river. "Not bad, huh?"

"It's beautiful!" exclaimed Shuichi in awe. "Hey! Free food!"

He ran over to a basket, filled to the brim with steak sandwiches and assorted vegetables.

"Courtesy of Judy." Said Yuki, coming up behind Shuichi and sitting down. "And delivered by Sakano."

"Wow…" said Shuichi, still taking in his surroundings and the food. "This is great."

Grabbing the tablecloth that was in the basket and spreading it on the ground, Yuki couldn't help but stare at Shuichi. He himself looked breathtaking in the setting sun, his ridiculous hair reflecting the sun's last beams, his eyes pools of swimming lavender and violet. Absolutely stunning.

With the tablecloth in place, Yuki grabbed a sandwich and put it in front of him, waiting for Shuichi to follow suit. Shuichi took the hint and pulled some carrots and celery from the basket.

"Meat has protein."

"Carrots are good for your eyes."

"Meat tastes better."

"Celery is good with peanut butter."

"But you don't have any peanut butter."

"Judy always provides." Said Shuichi, pulling out a jar. "Score!"

"You're such an idiot."

"Meanie."

"Brat." Said Yuki putting his sandwich down, and sliding over next to Shuichi. "Am I still so mean?" Having said that, Yuki went in for the kiss, pushing Shuichi down to the ground.

"Hey…what…" mumbled Shuichi when Yuki broke the kiss, only to be silenced by another.

"Meat's better…" whispered the demon in Shuichi's ear as he straightened up and scooted back to his original seat. A mattress was better than hard ground anyway.

"If you say so…" grumbled Shuichi, reluctantly taking a sandwich loaded with steak from the basket.

At the conclusion of the dinner, Yuki shoved all of the remaining food and tablecloth back into the basket for Sakano to fetch in the morning. Shuichi was sitting by the waterfall now, staring into the river.

"Ready to go, Shuichi?" asked Yuki, walking over to Shuichi. "It's getting dark."

"Yeah. I'm ready." Said Shuichi, walking up to Yuki and giving him a quick kiss. "Thanks for everything."

"Don't thank me just yet." Replied Yuki, his thoughts wandering to the possibilities spreading themselves before him.

Again grabbing Shuichi around his waist, Yuki spread his wings and flew back to the castle, this time to the front gate and not the roof.

"I'm going to bed. Care to join me?" said Yuki after they were inside the castle.

"Wha?" said Shuichi, pretending to yawn to hide his surprise. Maybe Yuki hadn't forgotten the deal after all.

"I'll take that as a yes." Said the demon, latching onto Shuichi's wrist and dragging him to the stairs. "Start walking. I'm not carrying you."

Shuichi tried to resist, but Yuki was much stronger than he was, and therefore succeeded in forcing him into the West Wing.

"Yuki…"said Shuichi as the demon locked the door to his bedroom.

"For the third time. You talk too much." Said Yuki as he walked over to Shuichi and pushed him onto the bed, all the while removing Shuichi's shirt. "No talking."

"Fine by me." Replied Shuichi, removing Yuki's shirt and pressing himself upwards and giving Yuki a kiss.


	9. Part 4 of Part 3

K had never been one to give up. Not once in his life had he labeled a task impossible. He was dealing with his son's servitude the same way. In K's mind, there was a way out of everything. Especially if you had a gun.

"I'm going to get him out of there, Hiroshi." Said K, looking out of a window back in his cottage. "Just because we failed the first time doesn't mean we will again."

"K, listen. I love Shuichi too, but this is hopeless. That demon is not going to give him up." Replied Hiro, twirling a pocky stick between his long fingers. "Shuichi is safe. You saw how the demon reacted to him when my life was at stake."

"I don't care! He's not staying there." Said K, his tone giving an air of finality. "I'm leaving to help him again. You can come if you want."

His choice being clear, K grabbed his gun and other survival tools and set out for the northern woods. Sensing defeat for his cause, Hiro cautiously set out behind him, not wanting anything to happen to the crazy man.

"Here we go again…" muttered Hiro as he picked up his pace to match K's. "K! Don't be rash. Shuichi's good at causing trouble. With his annoyance level, he'll probably just meet up with you in the woods. The demon seemed to have a pretty short fuse."

"Exactly. Shuichi's probably out there right now freezing, starving, and with a wolf gnawing on his leg."

"I think you're exaggerating K. Shuichi's either in the woods, or in the dungeon. I don't think his host likes him very much."

* * *

"Comfortable?" asked Yuki in a mocking tone, staring down at Shuichi lying underneath him.

"Stop torturing me!" said Shuichi indignantly from his position. "If we're going to do this, get on with it!"

"Aren't we grouchy."

"It's a tribute to you."

"Enough. Too much talking." Said Yuki, focusing his attention on removing the rest of Shuichi's clothing.

"Yuki…"

"Enough. Talking." Said Yuki testily, working at the boy's pants.

"Wait…do you hear something?"

"Finally…" replied Yuki, sliding the conquered pants to Shuichi's knees. "Ready?"

"Yea-" started Shuichi, when the door was suddenly slammed open.

"I'M ON FIRE! HELP ME! ASSISTANCE!" screamed Sakano as he ran into the room, circling around the bed several times. "HELP!"

"Come back here!" shouted Tohma, charging in behind Sakano. "I can help you!"

"EEK!" screamed Shuichi, pulling himself under the covers, seeing as his only remaining clothing was at half-mast.

"FIRE, FIRE!" screamed Sakano again, starting to roll around on the floor. The flames were spreading to his internal areas. "Put me out! PUT ME OUT!"

Catching up to the running clock, Tohma threw the bucket of water he had been carrying onto Sakano.

"I told you I could help…" said Tohma, backing up a few paces. "All better."

"But I'm charcoaled…"

"It gives you personality. Now let's go before the master shows up."

"Tohma." Said Yuki, rolling himself off of Shuichi with an aggravated sigh. "Sakano."

"Ahh! Eiri-san, you scared me…"

"I told you not to come in here! And don't call me that!"

"Sorry…but-"

"No more talking from you. What happened this time?"

"Well…" Tohma began dramatically. "Sakano and I were down in the kitchens playing a version of cookie dough baseball and Judy got really mad at us."

"That doesn't explain the fire, Tohma."

"I was getting to that. Then Judy told us to leave and I told her no, Sakano left, and I threw the cookie dough at her. It left a mark…now she's kind of leaking…"

"You broke Judy?" asked the demon incredulously, stifling laughter coming from Shuichi with his hand.

"Sort of. Then I ran out of the kitchen because she looked extra pissed and last time she was this mad she cracked the floors in the main hall."

"Keep going."

"As I was bravely running away, I didn't watch where I was going, I was watching Judy, and ran into Sakano…my flames weren't put out and he caught on fire…"

"He's never caught on fire before. I don't believe you."

"Part of cookie dough baseball is that you have to be covered in oil to slide into the bases…"

"I've heard enough. The boa's mine and you're both grounded."

"I think you're over-exaggerating a bit…" said Tohma, calmly edging towards the door. "No harm done…"

"Tohma." Chimed in Shuichi, holding the sheet up to his neck and glaring at Tohma from a strained sitting position. "Nice weather we're having."

"Oh…OH!" exclaimed Tohma, suddenly realizing the situation.

"GET OUT!" screamed the two interrupted lovers from the bed.

Sakano, having already made a speedy escape, held the door open for Tohma, a chucked shoe barely missing his head. Both being outside the door, they ran for the kitchens not bothering to look behind them.

"Moving on…" said Yuki, eager to get back to before the interruption.

"Uhh…I have…plans. With….Judy…yeah, that's it…with Judy." Stammered Shuichi, fishing for an excuse. "Bye"

Jumping out of the bed with his pants securely in place, Shuichi snatched his shirt from the floor and darted out of the room. Left behind was a very pissed demon.

"WHAT THE HELL!" screamed Yuki, throwing a death glare in the direction of the ceiling. In the village a pigeon died and hit Tatsuha in the head. "DAMMIT!"

* * *

Running back to the East Wing to avoid being seen, Shuichi was relieved. Something had started clawing at the back of his mind when Tohma and Sakano had disrupted the proceedings. Did he really want to sleep with Yuki? He didn't even love him and he knew the demon didn't have any feelings for him.

"What was I thinking?" muttered Shuichi, collapsing on his bed to go to sleep for the night. "Temporary lapse of insanity, I guess."

* * *

Yuki hadn't been this mad in a while. Judy was broken, Tohma was an idiot, Sakano was charbroiled, and he didn't get to have sex with Shuichi tonight. Life sucked. Maybe things would be better in the morning. But probably not.

If only Tohma and Sakano hadn't gotten in the way, things would be perfect…Shuichi would still be here, the plan would have payed off, everything would have been perfect. There was only one logical solution. Kill Tohma. And then Sakano.

But killing servants didn't always work. There used to be a butler. If Yuki killed Tohma, Mika would be angry. When Mika got angry people got hurt. Or got dead. One of the two. If Sakano was murdered no one would care.

"Too complicated…" groaned Yuki as he walked over to the previously occupied bed. "Too damn complicated."

Everything being pushed aside for the morning, Yuki was asleep within minutes.

* * *

The next morning found the castle to be deserted. No servants to be found anywhere, no Shuichi, Yuki still off in snooze-ville. The castle soon lost its deserted feeling, the sun breaking over the horizon, revealing some strange occurrences.

It wasn't often that Shuichi got up before noon. For this, though, an exception had been made. In a line directly in front of the pacing boy, all of the servants were assembled. And they all appeared to be waiting for something. Orders.

"In a fight, the most fundamental defense is a good offense. Don't give the enemy a chance to kick your ass. Blacken their faces first!" shouted Shuichi, his voice deep and serious. Playing general was quite amusing. "Alright. Let's demonstrate this. Tohma! Mika-san, if you please, ma'am."

Answering Shuichi's request, Mika jumped forward eager for a chance to take her anger out on Tohma. Tohma, on the other hand, was not as near eager. He was quite afraid of his wife.

"Tohma! Get over here. Fight me like a man!" screamed Mika at Tohma, who was now cowering. "NOW!"

"Good! Get the anger going!" encouraged Shuichi, approaching Mika and the quivering Tohma.

"Don't make me come after you." Mika said, scowling in Shuichi's direction. Shuichi gulped loudly and retreated back ten feet.

"Ok. Let's begin. Remember, good defense is a showy offense." Said Shuichi, retreating another five feet for good measure.

The demonstration having commenced, Mika leapt at Tohma with a snarling growl. Tohma plugged his nose and blew as hard as he could, sending flames rushing at Mika. Mika instinctively dodged, throwing herself at Tohma and knocking them both to the ground. As she was going for the finishing blow, Shuichi stepped in.

"Don't kill him!" screamed Shuichi from a safe distance. "Please!"

"I get to kill something. Whether it be you or him, I don't care." Said Mika, taking off at full speed after Shuichi.

"AHHHH!" screamed Shuichi, running as fast as he could in the other direction. "Don't hurt me!"

"I guess a pair of fast legs is good for a fight too, eh?" laughed Tohma, nudging Sakano in the side.

"I don't think I've ever seen him move that fast…" said Judy, coming up behind Tohma and Sakano. "For those chicken legs, you'd think he'd of passed out by now."

The chase concluded itself with Shuichi jumping into a tree and climbing for his life. He was thirty feet up when he realized Mika couldn't come after him. Feeling safe, he swung his legs over a branch and sat down.

"Furniture! Assemble!" he said loudly, eager to continue the drill-lesson. "Chop-chop!"

Hearing the command, everyone got back into a line to hear Shuichi's next statement.

"Second, as already demonstrated, strong legs are a must in case the enemy calls your bluff. Sakano, this would be good for you to learn…Hey Tohma…Sakano stole your boa."

Tohma's face contorted in rage, he gave a war scream, and took off after Sakano. Sakano cried out and ran for his life, almost as fast as Shuichi.

"Good. Faster, Sakano!" said Shuichi, starting to come out of the tree.

"I wouldn't come down any farther if I were you." Threatened Mika, glaring up at the descending teenager.

Shuichi yelped and scurried back into his tree, deciding to stay in one piece for the day. On the ground, Tohma had caught Sakano and was banging his head into the ground.

"Stop! He didn't really steal the boa!" shouted Shuichi from the tree.

Tohma stopped trying to kill Sakano immediately.

"The final thing to remember in a fight: You have to play dirty."

"Oh boy…" muttered Mika from the back row. "I'm through with this. I've got this part down." With that said, Mika shuffled off into the castle, throwing Shuichi one last glare.

"Tohma, your fire blowing ability is top-notch. Not the best against Mika-san, but still great. Sakano, you're cowardice is an excellent thing to make an escape out of. Judy, steam makes a great cloud cover to throw a sucker-punch with. Everyone, let's try it!" said Shuichi, jumping down out of his tree. "GO!"

Chaos followed Shuichi's words. Tohma caught a wardrobe on fire, Sakano ran into a wall and knocked himself out, Judy gave Shuichi a steam burn, and everyone else just started attacking one another.

"Stop! You're going to annihilate each other!" screamed Shuichi, nursing his burn.

"Don't use words you can't spell, dumbass." Said Yuki, coming out of the castle looking angry and amused at the same time.

"I can too spell it! A-N-N-I…hey Yuki…what's after the I?" asked Shuichi, his voice low and cowed. "Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing."

"Why did you come out here? I'm sorry if I woke you up…"

"You didn't wake me up. I came out here to ask you something, but seeing this makes me question your mental stability and capacity."

"Hey! Stop being mean! You never know when a giant robot panda might show up."

"Don't tell me what to do. If I change my mind, I'll get back to you." Replied Yuki with a smirk, walking back into the castle.

Yuki had had a revelation the moment he had woken up. His feelings for Shuichi were much more than physical obsession. Yes, that was the primary feeling. And yes, he still wanted to sleep with him more than he wanted to date him. All in all, Yuki had decided that he wanted Shuichi to be more than his 'mistress, title used for lack of better word.

As soon as he had woken up, Yuki had gone to the kitchens and arranged with the remaining staff a candlelit dinner for two in the main hall. However, after seeing Shuichi's latest escapade into the idiot hall of fame, his mind was feeling a change in the wind. Shuichi may be an idiot, but he was a cute idiot.

"Maybe I should just ask him. Stupidity aside, he's worth it…right?" said Yuki to himself as he walked down the hall towards the stairs. "Suck it up and do it."

Personal coaching finished, Yuki stopped mid-step and turned around. He would ask Shuichi. Shuichi would say yes, and by the end of the night, everything would be great. Making sure of course that Tohma and Sakano were locked up beforehand. Yuki didn't want another episode to occur. No more disruptions. Not this time.

Having reached the door, Yuki took a deep breath and stepped outside. Judy was still emitting steam from the crack she'd received during cookie dough baseball and random furniture was bumping into one another. So far the flaming wardrobe and Tohma had caught five others on fire, and Sakano was still unconscious. Mika was watching all of this from a balcony, chuckling to herself. Shuichi was back up in his tree, still holding the arm that was burned by Judy.

"Shuichi! Come down here."

"No way! You come up here! I'm not getting burned again, this hurts!"

"Now."

"No! You'll have to make me!"

"Consider what you've just said."

"I'm not coming down, Yuki!"

"Fine." Said Yuki, spreading his wings and joining Shuichi in the tree. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About your dinner plans for this evening."

"Well Tohma and I were going to go fishing and then-"

"Stop talking. You're making me regret coming up here." Said Yuki while massaging his forehead. "Speech is not your best feature."

"So…dinner plans?" said Shuichi timidly, as he was interested in continuing the conversation.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight in the main hall?"

"Main hall? The ballroom?"

"Yes, the ballroom. Call it what you will."

"Just dinner, Yuki?"

"We'll see. Depends on how much you annoy me."

"I'm not that annoying…"

"Maybe not…" said Yuki, putting his arm around Shuichi's shoulders tenderly.

"Wow…you're being really nice. Cool change."

"Haven't I told you enough to stop talking?" said Yuki testily. "Consider this a lesson in listening."

With that, Yuki pushed Shuichi out of the tree. The boy landed with a soft splat, but didn't appear to be seriously injured.

"Dinner. Tonight. Don't be late." Said Yuki after he had left the tree. "I'm busy today, leave me alone."

"Ok…" said Shuichi quietly from his face down position on the ground. " No problem…"

"Tohma! I need your help. Get over here and put yourself out." Ordered Yuki, facing Tohma and watching him struggle to put out his flames. "Hurry up."

Once the two were inside the castle, Tohma ventured to ask Yuki what they were doing.

"So, what can I help you with?"

"I need a…a…a makeover, so to speak."

"A makeover? Why?" Tohma asked in an incredulous tone.

"I asked Shuichi to dinner in the main hall. I look horrible."

"Not really…" muttered Tohma.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's get started. Hair first!"

After twelve hours of hard work, the demon looked amazing. His hair had been trimmed back, revealing the nape of his neck. His clothes had been repaired, no longer being covered in tattered holes. His wings had been nicely folded back, his claws trimmed. With some persuasion, Tohma had even gotten him to wear an old royal suit that had belonged to his father. To describe him in a word, spiffy.

Not that the twelve hours had been perfect. Tohma spent half the time pleading, debating, running, or working. Yuki spent the hours being tied to a chair and every once in a while escaping to chase Tohma. Family bonding is always so much fun.

"I hate this."

"Oh, get over it."

"What? Don't tell me to get over it! You made me look gay!"

"You are gay!"

"Tohma, you're pushing it."

"Sorry…master."

"Leave now or be killed. And tell Judy we're ready for her on your way out." Snarled the demon, glad to be rid of Tohma.

Half an hour later, Shuichi showed up, looking wonderful. His hair had also been cut, showing more of his face. His eyes were as bright as diamonds reflecting sunlight, and his clothes were the only bad feature. Seeing as he no longer had anymore clean clothes, he had been forced to steal some of Yuki's. The sleeves were too long, the pants were too big, and all the pieces were black.

After a quiet dinner, Judy cued some instruments to play music.

"Dance?" asked Yuki quietly, his eyes dark in the candlelight.

"Really?"

"Don't ruin this."

"Right. Yes, dancing sounds…um…"

"Just stop."

In response, Shuichi smiled loopily and followed Yuki onto the dance floor. When they started dancing, Judy tuned the band to a certain song, adding her own voice in.

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends unexpectedly.

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared, demon and the loon.

(Shuichi and Yuki have moved into the ballroom, where they move through a perfect dance sequence. Yuki occasionally looks over at Tohma and Sakano for their approval, though secretly shooting them a Death Glare as a warning to behave themselves. A pigeon splats onto the balcony. Shuichi giggles and Yuki SMILES! For like…the first time in eternity. Judy and Micheal are in the ballroom on their

cart.)

Judy: Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before, ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange,

Finding you can change, learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time,

Song as old as rhyme, demon and the loon.

Tale as old as time,

Song as old as rhyme, demon and the loon.

(To Micheal) Off to the cupboard with you now, Mike. It's past your bedtime. Good night, love.

(Micheal slides off the end of the cart, and hops out of the room, but comes back for one last look, trying to avoid Judy's watching eye. Shuichi and Yuki have adjourned to the balcony under a starry

night.)

"I'm done dancing." Said Yuki, admiring Shuichi's features in the moonlight.

"Yeah, me too." Replied Shuichi, moving closer to Yuki.

"Let's go in."

"Are Tohma and Sakano locked up?"

"Really?"

"Don't ruin this."

"Stop acting like me, brat."

"Ok."

"Get inside."

"Pushy."

"Loud."

"Meanie."

"Punk."

"Hey!" squalled Shuichi, but he was quickly stifled by a kiss from Yuki.

"Enough already, bedtime."

"Heh."

Upon reaching the West Wing, Yuki bolted the doors closed, to avoid any more disturbances. After securing any possible entrances, he turned his attention to Shuichi, looking him up and down.

"I'm going to need those clothes back you know…"

"And how are you going to accomplish that?" posed Shuichi slyly, angling himself toward Yuki.

"Like this." Answered Yuki suggestively as he slowly pulled the baggy shirt off and began to kiss Shuichi's neck, all the while pushing him onto the bed.


	10. Part 4

The next morning found Tohma, Sakano, Mika, and Judy all outside of Yuki's bedroom.

"They've been in there for five hours." Said Mika in disbelief.

"It's not humanly possible…" returned Tohma in awe.

"The master's not human." Said Judy, watching the door for signs of movement.

"Do you think they're just sleeping?" posed Sakano slowly.

"And just how long have you know the master?" answered the other three smartly.

"Good point…"

* * *

Inside of the door, Shuichi was snoozing peacefully. Yuki was standing by a lone table in the dark room. On the table sat a beautifully orange Gerbera daisy, three quarters of its petals missing. A delicate mirror was in his pocket.

"Time's running out…" muttered Yuki into the silence.

Hearing his lover's voice, Shuichi woke from his slumber. He got out of the bed quietly and grabbed the pants he had worn last night. After pulling them on, he shuffled over to where Yuki was standing and threw his arms around the demon's waist.

"Morning." Said Shuichi heavily, voice weighted down from sleep.

"Finally. I thought you'd sleep forever."

"Hmmm…" sighed Shuichi. "Watch ya looking at, Yuki?"

"Nothing, really."

"No…what is it?"

"It's just a flower."

"It looks half dead."

"I know." Said Yuki, looking very pained. "More than half…"

"Yuki…what's wrong?"

"Just drop it."

"Ohh! What's this?" asked Shuichi, fingering the shiny mirror.

"It's a way for me to look in on life outside of this castle."

"Really? Would it show me my father?"

"Yes. Just ask it."

"Ok…" replied Shuichi timidly, taking the mirror and holding it in his hands. "I'd like to see my father…"

The mirror glowed brightly for a second and then revealed a shocking scene. K was unconscious on the ground, Hiro standing in front of him fighting off the bloodthirsty wolves.

"Oh no…" said Shuichi, his voice shaking as he slid to the floor.

"Shuichi. Get up."

"Does the mirror ever lie?" Shuichi asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"No." answered Yuki. "It'll be alright, get up."

"I can't…"

"Fine." Said Yuki, grabbing Shuichi and pulling him close. He led the shaking boy over the bed and laid him down on it. "Here. You're alright."

Yuki silently watched Shuichi for a few minutes after. The boy was lying on the bed, obviously in shock, hands locked around the mirror. And he was crying, the tears running down his face.

"Yuki…"

"What, brat?"

"He needs me."

"You're not leaving."

"Please…he needs my help. Can I go to him?" said Shuichi tentatively, sitting up on the bed.

"I don't believe you."

"Yuki…don't be mad."

"Too late. Get out."

"Yuki? I'll stay, I'm sorry, please don't throw me out again…"

"I said GET OUT! NOW!" shouted the demon, striking Shuichi across the face, insulted that the boy would want to leave him now after last night. "GET OUT!"

"Yuki! Please!" pleaded Shuichi, his face stinging from the blow.

"NOW!" screamed Yuki, full of rage for the boy, grabbing him by his arm and throwing him into the door. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Admitting defeat, Shuichi crawled through the now open doors and into the hallway. The four servants quickly surrounded him, astounded by his bloody face and the screaming. But apparently Shuichi's retreat wasn't progressing quickly enough for Yuki, as he showed up and gave Shuichi a hard kick in the stomach. The boy rolled down the marble stairs, not moving when he reached the bottom. Yuki snarled and stormed back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Free to be alone with his thoughts, Yuki was devastated. Shuichi was gone. He wouldn't ever come back, not after this. Looking around his empty room, Yuki had to hold back tears of regret. His breathing rate increasing, the demon was forced to sit on the bed. He remembered Shuichi's words.

"_He needs me."_

"But I need you…" said the demon to his lonely room. "Shuichi…"

He lie there for a long time, on the verge of tears.

* * *

At the bottom of the staircase, Shuichi was coming to. His whole body was aching. His stomach was sick from being kicked, his face was still stinging and bloody, and his back made him feel like a steamroller had hit him. But worse than all of that, his heart was hurting him the most. It was broken.

His feelings for the demon ran deep. He had given himself to Yuki, and now this. Thrown out like trash. Shuichi had never felt more betrayed, more hurt. Everything aside, his father still needed him; he had to leave.

Scrambling to get up in case Yuki was anywhere near him, Shuichi almost slipped on the slick marble. As quickly as he could, he gathered himself and ran for the East Wing to retrieve a shirt. Being fully dressed and still holding the magic mirror, he set out for the stables, and his horse.

"I wonder what happened…" said Mika darkly.

"Yeah…everything was going great." Replied Tohma, stroking his boa thoughtfully.

"Poor Shuichi…" came Judy's reply.

"The master is probably still upset…we should leave…" warned Sakano standing next to the stairs. "Hey! Shuichi's gone!"

Hearing Sakano say that Shuichi was gone was the final blow for Yuki. Nothing mattered now. The curse would never be broken; Shuichi would never come back to him. He was doomed to be alone, to go back to life before Shuichi.

Urging his horse to go as fast as possible, Shuichi couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He already missed Yuki. His biting remarks, his dark eyes, everything about him. Tears streaming down his raw face, Shuichi could barely see.

"Hey! Shuichi slow down!" shouted Hiro, dodging Shuichi's horse quickly as it zoomed by. "Shu!"

Snapping out of his daze, Shuichi turned the horse around and ran over to Hiro, throwing himself into his arms.

"Hiro…"

"Shu, what's wrong?" asked Hiro, full of worry. "Shuichi! Answer me!"

"He threw me out…he doesn't care about me…" moaned Shuichi, sinking into the snow.

"Who? That demon?"

"He's human on the inside, Hiro…"

"What did he do to you? Your face…"

"It doesn't matter now…He'll never let me go back…"

"Shuichi?"

"I miss him."

"Shu…"

"Wait! Dad!" said Shuichi, remembering why he had come out here in the first place. "How is he Hiro?"

"He'll be alright. Help me get him back to the village."

"Yeah, ok."

With that, the two hoisted the unconscious K onto Nanashi and set out for the village, for home.

* * *

"Ryuichi. I've been thinking." Said Tatsuha.

"Really? Do you have a headache?" questioned Ryuichi, his eyes wide.

"Actually, no. Strange isn't it?" replied Tatsuha, feeling proud of himself. "Listen. I've been thinking about Shuichi."

"Yeah…what about him?"

"I'm still set on marrying him. He will be mine. But we have to get through to him." Muttered Tatsuha darkly. "What's the most important thing to Shuichi in the entire world?"

"Candy!"

"Besides that…"

"Music!"

"Keep going…"

"His father!"

"Yep! We use K to get to Shuichi."

"Brilliant. Kuma likes it too!"

"Kuma?"

"My bunny assistant. He helps me assist you!" squealed Ryuichi with delight while he hugged Kumagoro. "What do we do with Shuichi's father?"

"He's crazy… We know that for sure. Let's pay a visit to an old friend of mine…"

The pair then set out to a dark house on the other side of town. The owner of said house a creepy, droopy-eyed man that 'took care of' crazies.

"Tachi! How nice to see you again!" said Tatsuha brightly, walking into the room.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Uesugi?" replied Tachi, eyeing the moneybag Tatsuha was carrying.

"I need someone taken care of."

"Killed or locked up, sir?"

"Locked up. Permanently."

"What's the situation, and who are we doing this to?"

"K. The crazy inventor. I want to marry his son and let's just say the two of them could use some persuading."

"I understand completely. I'll assemble my men and meet you there in an hour." Said Tachi evilly. "But I require pay. Up front."

"Will this be substantial?" said Tatsuha, full of himself for his wealth.

"No."

"Wha?"

"No. The man is always armed and his son is a firecracker waiting to go off."

"Fine. Ryuichi! Give me the back up coins."

"That will be just perfect, Uesugi. I'll be seeing you in an hour's time."

"Good."

Enough having been said, Tatsuha left the house with Ryuichi in tow.

* * *

Shuichi was almost relieved to be home. K's breathing had been very unsteady during the return trip, and Hiro had almost fainted from fatigue. But he still missed the castle, all of his friends, and Yuki.

"Hiro. You go and rest…I'll take care of K."

"Thanks Shu, but I need to get home. My mother will be wanting to see how I am. I hope everything works out for you."

"Bye Hiro." Said Shuichi as he waved goodbye to his friend and started to cart K up the stairs.

His task was interrupted, however, by a knock on the door. Swinging it open, he had to stifle a gasp. Tatsuha was standing outside with what looked like an army of goons.

"Glad to see you're back safe, my dear."

"Don't call me that…" said Shuichi, backing away.

"Don't run from me." Ordered Tatsuha, reaching up to Shuichi and grabbing his arm to drag him outside. He easily overpowered the small boy. "Heh."

"Let go of me!"

Shuichi's cries for help awoke K, and he came charging out the door guns in hand.

"Get your hands off of him, you!" shouted the angry gunman, getting a round off at Tatsuha's head.

"Ummm…Uesugi, I'll come back with more men. And a stronger carriage…he has more firepower than usual…" said Tachi, noticing the large gun strapped to K's back.

"Fine. I'll just round these two up and save them for later…" smirked Tatsuha, pulling Shuichi over to the cellar door and kicking it open. "You'll be plenty comfortable in here."

K and Shuichi then found themselves locked in their own cellar with no way out and Tatsuha leaving for the local bar to celebrate.

"Ryuichi, my stupid friend, we are victorious. I'll have Shuichi any day now." Said Tatsuha, ordering a beer from his usual chair.

"Yeah. Our plan worked. Kuma's happy for you."

"Right…"

"I'm tired…I'm going home. See you tomorrow Tatsuha!" said Ryuichi drowsily as he skipped out of the bar.

"Maybe I should rethink this whole marriage idea. I only want to sleep with him a couple times." Mused Tatsuha to his trophy wall. "And if he's worth getting tied up in a marriage with, then I'll marry him. Yeah. I love this new idea…"

Walking out of the bar, Tatsuha was feeling especially evil. Now all he had to do was to go and get Shuichi. Things were going great.

* * *

"Tohma…I'm worried about Shuichi." Said Sakano sadly, looking out of the castle's main door.

"Me too. We should go after him."

"I agree. Let's get going. I hope nothing's happened to him."

Setting out the door on his rescue mission, Tohma's path was impeded by a very bedraggled Yuki.

"Tohma. Bring him back."

"Of course, sir."

"Make sure he's safe."

"I will."

"Tell him I'm sorry…that I want him to come back."

"I will, Eiri."

"Thank you."

* * *

Tatsuha had arrived. He was feeling very gleeful, absolutely giddy about his new plan.

"Shuichi! I'm going to let you out now if you promise to be nice…" he called softly.

"Go to hell!" was the only reply.

"Then I'll just come and get you myself."

"You come in here and I'll shoot you!" retorted K.

"Shuichi. If you don't come out of there, I'll have K locked up."

"I'd love to see you try. That doctor already ran."

"Then I'll kill your little demon friend."

"Wha…No!"

"Then get out here."

"I'm coming…"

"Good."

After Shuichi had exited the cellar and left K behind, he couldn't help but notice some branches rustling in the distance. But there wasn't any wind. Looking into the tree behind Tatsuha, Shuichi caught sight of only one thing; a feather boa.

"Tohma…"

"What was that? My name's Tatsuha, you dolt."

"Don't insult me. I'm immune."

"You remember when I proposed and you turned me down flat?"

"Yeah…my answer is still no."

"I don't want to marry you anymore. I just want to sleep with you. Let's go."

"No!"

"Then it's over for Yuki."

"How do you know his name?"

"He's my brother."

"What! You're just like him too! Jerks! All you want is sex!"

"It's a family thing. Let's go."

"You'd kill for brother over me?"

"Getting you into my bed is the most important thing on my agenda. I could care less about blood ties."

"OK. I'll go with you."

"Good."

Tatsuha threw his arm around Shuichi's waist and practically ran for his house, and his bed. He couldn't wait for the night's events. Following close behind the two were Tohma and Sakano, both worried for their friends.

"Sakano. You stay here and try to help K…I'll go stop Tatsuha."

"Right."

Tohma then scampered off into the distance, determined to stop Tatsuha at all costs. He had never seen Eiri this upset, and he didn't want to make it any harder on him.

After the three had reached Tatsuha's house, Tohma hid behind a tree and watched the other two. Tatsuha was dragging Shuichi in, and Shuichi was much too tired to resist him.

"Damn it! Fight back!"

"It's time Shuichi."

"I don't care."

"Well I don't care if you don't care so let's get started." Said Tatsuha, shoving Shuichi roughly onto the bed and throwing himself on top of him.

It was at that moment that Tohma came bursting into the room, fully alight with flame.

"SHUICHI! Stop!"

"It doesn't matter anymore Tohma! Go back to the castle!" said Shuichi, now squirming underneath Tatsuha, who was trying his best to ignore Tohma.

"Eiri still cares about you! He's sorry! He wants you to come back!"

Hearing these words fully re-energized Shuichi. He came to his senses and kneed Tatsuha right in the family jewels.

"AHHHHH! Ohh! Shit!" screamed Tatsuha, rolling off of the bed with a thump. "Unnhhh…"

Tohma and Shuichi made a speedy escape, not wanting to be there when Tatsuha regained mobility.

"I left Sakano to help your father. We should get back there quickly."

"Yeah."

When they reached the house, Tachi's men surrounded it. And they were all armed. One of the bigger ones grabbed Shuichi as he came around the corner.

"Well lookey here. Aren't you pretty."

"GET OFF OF ME!" screamed Shuichi, kicking his feet as hard as he could.

"Take this!" said Tohma, catching the brute on fire. "Haha!"

"Men! Stop! The boy is the crackpot's son." Ordered Tachi. "Ah, Tatsuha. You're here. Is something wrong? You're limping."

"I'm…fine…"

"Throw the candlestick in the cellar." Said Tachi, not wanting anymore of his men to be scorched.

"Shuichi! I make good on my word. I'm going to kill him." Said Tatsuha, glaring at Shuichi.

"No! You can't…"

"I can. I will."

"Who do you want to kill?" asked an inquisitive soldier.

"A demon."

"Aw, there's no such thing."

"Give me that mirror. I know you have it." Said Tatsuha, looking at Shuichi. "Now!"

"All right…"

"There is a demon." Said Tatsuha, holding the mirror up, it now showing a very sad Yuki.

The crowd gasped and stepped closer to the mirror.

"He's harmless! Really!" said Shuichi, trying to protect Yuki.

"Really? Then what happened to your face?" questioned Tatsuha cruelly.

"Noth…nothing." Said Shuichi, hiding the scratch marks on his face.

"The monster must be killed!" shouted Tatsuha, receiving enthusiasm from the crowd.

"So it's time to take some action, boys, it's time to follow me!"

(TATSUHA throws a torch into a haystack, creating an instant bonfire. He begins to prance around it, warning of the dangers of the horrible DEMON.)

Through the mist, through the woods

Through the darkness and the shadows

It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride.

Say a prayer, then we're there

At the drawbridge of a castle,

And there's something truly terrible inside.

(Tatsuha chases Shuichi around, mimicking a monster.)

It's a beast,

He's got fangs, razor sharp ones

Massive wings,

Killer claws for the demon

(The mirror shows the face of Yuki to the crowd, which Tatsuha exaggerates about.)

Hear him roar, see him foam,

But we're not coming home,

'Til he's dead, good and dead, kill the demon!

SHUICHI: (Interrupting) No, I won't let you do this!

TATSUHA: If you're not with us, you're against us!

(Tatsuha throws Shuichi back into the cellar with K, Tohma, and Sakano and bolts the door.)

TATSUHA: We can't have them running off to warn the creature!

SHUICHI: LET ME OUT!

TATSUHA: (To the CROWD) We'll rid the village of this demon. Who's with me?

(A chorus of "I am"s comes from the CROWD)

MOB: Light your torch, mount your horse!

TATSUHA: Screw your courage to the sticking place

MOB: We're counting on Tatsuha to lead the way!

Through a mist, to a wood,

Where within a haunted castle,

Something's lurking that you don't see every day!

(Tatsuha leads the MOB through the town and out into the forest, where they start chopping trees in preparation for their assault on the castle.)

It's a demon,

One as tall as a mountain!

We won't rest

'Til he's good and deceased!

Sally forth, tally ho,

Grab your sword, grab your bow

Praise the Lord and here we go!

TATSUHA: We'll lay siege to his castle and bring back his head!

(The scene shows Shuichi is prying at the window with a stick. He opens it enough to allow Tohma and Sakano a chance to escape.)

"Listen. Sakano and I are going to return to the castle. We've got to prepare everyone." Said Tohma, launching himself out the window.

"Remember to fight dirty." Said Shuichi with a small smile

"Of course." Said Tohma, disappearing with Sakano close behind.

SHUICHI: I've got to warn Eiri. This is all my fault. Oh, K…what are we going to do?

K: (Comforting him) Now, now. We'll think of something.

MOB: We don't like, what we don't

Understand, it frankly scares us

And this monster is mysterious at least!

Bring your guns, bring your knives,

Save your children and your wives,

We'll save our village and our lives,

We'll kill the demon!

* * *

At the castle…

(A footstool of sorts comes tearing into the room barking. Tohma and Sakano following closely behind. The four servants rush over to the window expecting to see Shuichi riding up.)

MIKA: Could it be?

JUDY: Is it she?

TOHMA: (Realizing the MOB has already caught up with them.) Sacre bleu, invade

SAKANO: Encroachers!

JUDY: (Looking down at Tatsuha.) And they have the mirror!

SAKANO: (Issuing orders) Warn the master. If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them. Who's with me? Aahh! (The door is slammed as the other three run to fight. Sakano quickly follows after them.)

TATSUHA: Take whatever booty you can find, but remember, the demon is mine!

(Scene goes to stairway, where all of the furniture and servants are marching down to do battle with the MOB.)

FURNITURE: Hearts ablaze, banners high!

We go marching into battle,

Unafraid, although the danger just increased!

MOB: Raise the flag, sing the song

Here we come, we're fifty strong

And fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong,

Let's kill the demon!

(The scene changes again, showing Yuki's bedroom, where Judy is briefing him.)

JUDY: Pardon me, master.

YUKI: Leave me in peace.

JUDY: But sir, the castle is under attack!

MOB: Kill the demon, kill the demon!

(The furniture have tried to block off the door, but it is being bashed in by the MOB with a big stick.)

TOHMA: This isn't working!

MIKA: Tohma! Get smart and do something!

TOHMA: Wait! I know!

MOB: Kill the demon, kill the demon!

(Scene jumps to Yuki's bedroom)

JUDY: What shall we do, master?

YUKI: (Still very depressed) It doesn't matter now. Just let them come.

MOB: Kill the demon, kill the demon, kill the demon!

(The MOB succeeds in breaking in, and finds a grand entrance filled with quiet furniture and other assorted objects. Everything seems quiet. Suddenly, a thick steam fills the air. They tiptoe in, and a burly man unknowingly picks up Tohma to see through the haze. )

TOHMA: Now!

At that second, Tohma blew fire at the face of the man holding him, Sakano ran around in circles, Judy spewed hot tea on everyone, and Mika was taking out knees all over the place. The entire army was crazed. Just like Shuichi had taught them.

* * *

Back in the West Wing, a family reunion was happening.

"Aniki…what's happened to you?" asked Tatsuha, astounded by his brother's appearance.

"Get out, Tatsuha. It doesn't matter what happened or why. Everything's finished."

"There has to be a way…"

"The way ran. He's not coming back."

"He? What are you talking about?"

"Shuichi. He knows you, you know him. No more questions. Just leave me alone."

"Shuichi? My Shuichi!" said Tatsuha, enraged that the relationship between his brother and Shuichi was more than master and prisoner. Then he saw Shuichi's clothes lying on the floor around the bed. All feelings of brotherly compassion flew out the window. In a zealous fashion. "Time to die!"

"Whatever. Just get ou- Ahh!" started Yuki, even as Tatsuha was loading the arrow into his bow. "Ahh…"

"Get up and fight me! I'm going to kill you!"

Yuki gave no response, the arrow in his wing causing him great pain.

Tatsuha took the silence as a sign of weakness and pushed Yuki onto the roof, determined to win the fight. He pulled out his knife to prepare for Yuki's counter-attack, but it never came. Enraged at his brother's lack of participation, Tatsuha lunged toward Yuki, dagger at the ready. Yuki grabbed one of his wrists in an effort to stop Tatsuha, but didn't move fast enough. The dagger was plunged into his stomach by Tatsuha's free hand.

* * *

"Shuichi, why do you care if the demon is warned or not? Look what's he's done to you." Said K to his son after Tohma and Sakano had left.

"He's my friend. I can't just leave him to be killed. I have to help him!"

"Why would you risk your life for him?"

"Because I have to!"

"We could just stay here and continue our lives…" said K, thinking of his inventing.

"NO! We have to go!"

"Why can't you stay here, continue the business?" said K with anger. "How could you do this to me, to yourself? How can you be happy with that demon!"

"Because I love him!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!"

"He's a demon!"

"You're not acting much better! I love him, and you can't change that!"

"He doesn't love you! Look at your face, for God's sake!"

"I don't care if he loves me! He needs me and I'm going!"

K then took to staring long and hard at his son. He couldn't believe everything that had happened. He didn't want to see all of the changes in his son. But if this was important to Shuichi, then it was important to him.

"Alright. Let's go. I've been itching to shoot something."

"Really? You're OK with this?"

"Yes. As long as you're happy, Shu."

"Thank you."

K pulled out a spare gun and shot the lock off of the door, allowing the two to escape. Shuichi mounted Nanashi and K jumped on behind him. They reached the castle in record time with no wolves, but the mob beat them there.

"Eiri!"

"Don't call me that…" muttered Yuki stubbornly, holding the wound in his stomach and dodging another attack from Tatsuha.

"What the hell are you doing! Fight back!"

"It doesn't matter if I do or not! Leave before you get hurt!" said Yuki, again avoiding Tatsuha's dagger. "Give me that!" he said, snatching the knife away from Tatsuha.

"I'm here, and I'm staying!" shouted Shuichi, his eyes wide with worry, his voice shaking noticeably.

"Shuichi…" said Yuki, looking down at Shuichi. Tatsuha took the opportunity to sneak up behind Yuki, an arrow drawn to be used as a substitute dagger.

"Eiri, watch out dammit! You can't get killed now! Please don't die on me!"

Yuki didn't give Shuichi a response, but turned around and slapped Tatsuha in the face.

"It's not nice to stab people."

"Oh so now you're going to fight…"

"Yeah." Answered Yuki, throwing Tatsuha's own dagger at him. "Hope you're ready."

Below, Shuichi left K behind to assist the furniture. He himself ran through the castle, trying to reach Yuki as quickly as possible. The demon had appeared to be seriously injured when Shuichi had shown up.

On the roof, Tatsuha was getting his teeth kicked in. Yuki had proved quite wily. He had hit him, slapped him, kicked him, stabbed him with his own knife and disappeared. At the least, Tatsuha was pissed.

"Come out and fight me, dammit! Or are you afraid?"

"What, of you? Don't make me laugh." Cackled Yuki from his hiding place behind a gargoyle statue.

"Get out here!" screamed Tatsuha, loading an arrow into his bow. "Come here so I can kill you!"

"Nope."

"Tatsuha! You prick!" screamed Shuichi, running onto the balcony holding a mop. Then he realized he was on the wrong part of the roof. "Shit…got lost again…"

"Happy to see me, Shuichi? We'll be together soon as I get rid of a little problem."

"I'm not little." Snarled Yuki, coming out of his hiding place. In a distinctively lower tone, "And he's not happy to see you."

"Aha!" shouted Tatsuha, firing his arrow. It hid Yuki square in the middle of the chest. "Gotcha! Shuichi's mine!"

"NOO!" screamed Shuichi, watching from his balcony as Yuki gasped and fell to the ground. "NOOO!"

Shuichi jumped over the railing of his balcony and started to climb over to where the two brothers were finishing up the fight. Yuki was covered in blood. Tatsuha looked pleased, having found his dagger.

"It's over, demon."

It was all Yuki could do to glare at Tatsuha, his eyes starting to give out on him. Everything was going black.

"Get away from him!" screamed Shuichi, hitting Tatsuha in the head with his mop.

"What the…!" exclaimed Tatsuha as he lost his footing and fell off of the roof.

Shuichi ran over to where Yuki was lying. A pool of blood had begun to form from the arrows being pulled out. The boy dragged Yuki over another railing and onto a flat balcony leading into the West Wing. Yuki struggled to sit up, but couldn't find the strength. His breathing was becoming heavy and slow.

"I'm sorry…Shuichi…" he said, his eyes closing as he fell to the ground. His last thoughts were of Shuichi. He realized now what he had denied all along. He loved Shuichi. More than anything in his lonely world. A second later, the daisy lost its last petal. The light from the flower faded, and was no more.

"Eiri! Eiri?" said Shuichi, choking on his tears. He was answered only by silence. Yuki had stopped breathing, his pulse slowing to nothing. "Please don't leave me…"

The battle downstairs being concluded, K remained behind to deal with any stragglers, and the four servants rushed up to the West Wing. As they approached, their eyes fell on the sight of Yuki lying in Shuichi's arms while Shuichi's face was covered with tear trails.

"No…no…this can't be happening…" he muttered, watching the lifeless form of Yuki. "Why did this have to happen…now that I realize I love him…"

All of a sudden, a strange light surrounded the balcony. Shuichi gasped, still shaken over Yuki's demise. The light centered itself around Yuki, and lifted him off of the ground a few inches. Shuichi stood back, afraid.

Change was swallowing the demon. His wings were shrinking, now they were nothing, his ears were becoming rounded. His claws disappeared, leaving behind long, pale fingers. The fangs retreated. The curse was broken.

"Eiri?" asked Shuichi tentatively, walking over to where the demon now lay. "Are you alive…?"

"Does it look like I'm dead?" said Yuki, rubbing his head and looking at Shuichi in disbelief. "What are you, stupid?"

"I knew it! You do love him!" shouted Tohma from the doorway, doing a happy dance with Sakano and the boa. "I was right!"

"I don't love him!" retorted Yuki, getting up. He then realized his wings were gone. Looking at his hands and seeing no claws, he gasped. "I'm…normal."

The light moved onto to the others, surrounding them as it had their master. Sakano grew taller, and lost his clock shape. His hair appeared and turned black. His eyes grew brown. Glasses appeared. He looked as nervous as ever.

Tohma was to follow him. His waxy head evolved to reveal sharp, distinguished features. A hat materialized onto his platinum blond head. The boa was still in his hands.

Now Mika was changing. She lost all of the feathers, and became a beautiful woman that had the same features of her brothers. She was stunning in a black gown.

Judy and Micheal were standing together, waiting for their turn. Instead of being round and portly, Judy transformed into a perfect woman. Tall, curvy, scary. Everyone was shocked. Shuichi gasped. Micheal was turned into a little boy with blond hair. He stayed close to his mother.

All throughout the castle, furniture was changing. Then the castle itself changed. Gone were the gargoyles and dark things. The walls were now white and shiny. The statues were of angels. Everything had returned to normal.

* * *

Three weeks later, Shuichi was still living with Yuki. But not as a servant. As a fiancé. K was there too, and very much in love with Judy. He and Micheal were the best of friends, much to Judy's dismay. The little kid had started carrying a water gun, K's latest invention.

To celebrate the return of normalcy, Tohma had called forth all of Yuki's subjects, as he was again a prince. The party was beautiful. Shuichi was dressed in a princely outfit, his old clothes gone. Yuki was again dressed like royalty, and looked very spiffy. The two were dancing around the room, Shuichi trying to look dignified. Yuki was just trying not to laugh at him.

When the party was said and done, one last visitor came to the castle. Her name, Ayaka. Her profession, a witch. She had cursed Yuki all those years ago. She again appeared as a hag.

"You Prince. Have you learned your lesson?" she asked, coming into the castle after Shuichi opened the door to her.

"What lesson?" Yuki answered, coming downstairs to find Shuichi.

In response to his answer, the hag's ugliness melted again, leaving a puddle, and revealed the not-so-beautiful enchantress Ayaka.

"Oh, crap." Said Yuki, realizing his mistake. "Not you again…"

"Now you've done it! This time it's for eternity! No redeeming yourself!"

"Eiri…what's going on? What's she talking about?" asked Shuichi, having always been oblivious to the curse.

"Nothing…"

Ayaka just started laughing, waved her hand, and then left. She had no desire to see everyone's misery.

"Hey, Eiri."

"What, brat?"

"You look weird again."

"Shut up."

"Whatever." Said Shuichi, stretching his arms. "OH MY GOD! I'M WING-ED!"

Shuichi then started screaming. Yuki rubbed his head. This was not good.

"…this is gonna be one long eternity." He muttered into the castle, amidst Shuichi's screams.

**The End**

* * *

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I couldn't have written this story with out you.

I'd also like to thank my editor-that-didn't-read-the-story. My best friend, Jacob. You're the best, thank you so much for putting up with my random phone calls about this story for two years and one day.

Ciao.

-Raita Amaya-

Special Thanks to: for the song formats


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